The Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (), more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four
treaties of the
Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1949, and came into force in October 1950. While the first three conventions dealt with combatants, the Fourth Geneva Convention was the first to deal with humanitarian protections for civilians in a war zone. There are currently
196 countries party to the 1949
Geneva Conventions, including this and the other three treaties.
Among its numerous provisions, the Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly prohibits the transfer of the population of an occupying power into the territory it occupies.
The Fourth Geneva Convention only concerns
protected civilians in
occupied territory rather than the effects of hostilities, such as the
strategic bombing during World War II.
The 1977
Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions (AP-1) prohibits all intentional attacks on "the civilian population and civilian objects."
It also prohibits and defines "
indiscriminate attacks" as "incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated." This rule is referred to by scholars as the
principle of proportionality.
Until well after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
ended in 1945, the
norm of reciprocity provided a justification for conduct in armed conflict.
In 1993, the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
adopted a report from the
Secretary-General
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...
and a Commission of Experts which concluded that the Geneva Conventions had passed into the body of
customary international humanitarian law, thus making them binding on non-signatories to the Conventions whenever they engage in armed conflicts. This broader application underscores the importance of the Fourth Geneva Convention in ongoing conflicts where allegations of violations frequently surface, emphasising its role in international efforts to ensure the protection of civilians, as illustrated by the ongoing debates and legal interpretations in modern conflicts.
Part I. General provisions
This sets out the overall parameters for GCIV:
Article 2: Application of the Convention
Article 2 states that signatories are bound by the convention both in war,
armed conflicts where
war has not been declared, and in an
occupation of another country's territory.
The scope of Article 2 is broad:
In the commentary to the article
Jean Pictet writes:
Article 3: Conflicts not of an international character
Article 3 states that even where there is not a conflict of international character, the parties must as a minimum adhere to minimal protections described as:
non-combatant
Non-combatant is a term of art in the law of war and international humanitarian law to refer to civilians who are not taking a direct part in hostilities. People such as combat medics and military chaplains, who are members of the belligerent arm ...
s, members of armed forces who have laid down their arms, and
combatants who are ''
hors de combat'' (out of the fight) due to
wound
A wound is any disruption of or damage to living tissue, such as skin, mucous membranes, or organs. Wounds can either be the sudden result of direct trauma (mechanical, thermal, chemical), or can develop slowly over time due to underlying diseas ...
s,
detention, or any other cause ''shall in all circumstances be treated humanely'', with the following prohibitions:
*(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds,
mutilation, cruel treatment and
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
;
*(b) taking of
hostages;
*(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
*(d) the passing of
sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the
judicial guarantee
A guarantee is a form of transaction in which one person, to obtain some trust, confidence or credit for another, agrees to be answerable for them. It may also designate a treaty through which claims, rights or possessions are secured. It is to ...
s which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.
Article 4: Definition of protected persons
Article 4 defines who is ''
protected person'':
It explicitly excludes "Nationals of a State which is not bound by the Convention" and the citizens of a
neutral state in the territory of a belligerent power or nationals of a
co-belligerent state (i.e.,
allied nation) if that state has normal
diplomatic relations "within the State in whose hands they are." Dr. Ola Engdahl wrote "
e purpose of excluding
hesenationals from the category of protected persons was that they could rely on diplomatic protection of the state of nationality. Persons are either protected persons under the convention or can benefit from the diplomatic protection of their state of nationality."
A number of articles specify how ''protecting powers'', ''
ICRC'' and ''other
humanitarian organizations'' may aid ''protected persons''.
The definition of ''protected person'' in this article is arguably the most important article in this section because many of the articles in the rest of GCIV only apply to ''protected persons''.
Article 5: Derogations
Article 5 provides for the suspension of persons' rights under the convention for the duration of time that this is "prejudicial to the security of such State", although "such persons shall nevertheless be treated with humanity and, in case of trial, shall not be deprived of the rights of fair and regular trial prescribed by the present Convention."
The common interpretation of article 5 is that its scope is very limited. Derogation is limited to individuals "definitely suspected of" or "engaged in activities hostile to the security of the State." In paragraph two of the article, "spy or saboteur" is mentioned.
Part II. General Protection of Populations Against Certain Consequences of War
Article 13: Field of application of part II
The list of basis on which distinction might be drawn is not exhaustive.
Article 16: Wounded and Sick: General Protection
Part III. Status and Treatment of Protected Persons
Section I. Provisions common to the territories of the parties to the conflict and to occupied territories
Article 32: Prohibition of corporal punishment, torture, etc.
A protected person may not have anything done "of such a character as to cause physical suffering or extermination ... the physical suffering or extermination of protected persons in their hands. This prohibition applies to murder,
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
,
corporal punishment
A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...
s, mutilation and medical or scientific experiments not necessitated by the medical treatment. While popular debate remains on what constitutes a legal definition of torture, the ban on corporal punishment simplifies the matter; even the most mundane physical abuse is thereby forbidden by Article 32, as a precaution against alternate definitions of torture.
The prohibition on scientific experiments was added, in part, in response to experiments by German and Japanese doctors during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
of whom
Josef Mengele
Josef Mengele (; 16 March 19117 February 1979) was a Nazi German (SS) officer and physician during World War II at the Russian front and then at Auschwitz during the Holocaust, often dubbed the "Angel of Death" (). He performed Nazi hum ...
was the most infamous.
Article 33: Individual responsibility, collective penalties, pillage and reprisals
Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions,
collective punishment is a
war crime
A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
. By collective punishment, the drafters of the Geneva Conventions had in mind the reprisal killings of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In the First World War, the Germans executed Belgian villagers in mass retribution for
resistance activity during the
Rape of Belgium
The Rape of Belgium was a series of systematic war crimes, especially mass murder and German occupation of Belgium during World War I#Deportation and forced labour, deportation, by German troops against Belgians, Belgian civilians during Germa ...
. In World War II, both German and Japanese forces carried out a form of collective punishment to suppress resistance. Entire villages or towns or districts were held responsible for any resistance activity that occurred at those places.
[Keylor, William R., ''The Twentieth-Century World and Beyond'', Oxford University Press, New York: 2011.] The conventions, to counter this, reiterated the principle of individual responsibility. The
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Commentary to the conventions states that parties to a conflict often would resort to "intimidatory measures to terrorize the population" in hopes of preventing hostile acts, but such practices "strike at guilty and innocent alike. They are opposed to all principles based on humanity and justice".
Additional Protocol II of 1977 is about the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts explicitly forbidding collective punishment. But as fewer states have ratified this protocol than GCIV, GCIV Article 33 is the one more commonly quoted.
Section III. Occupied territories
Articles 47–78 impose substantial obligations on occupying powers. As well as numerous provisions for the general welfare of the inhabitants of an occupied territory, an occupier may not forcibly deport protected persons, or deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into occupied territory (Art.49).
Article 49: Deportations, transfers, evacuations
The reference in the last paragraph to "
deportation
Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...
", is commonly understood as the ''expulsion'' of foreign nationals, whereas the expulsion of nationals would be called ''extradition, banishment'' or ''exile''. If ethnic groups are affected by ''deportation'', it may also be referred to as
population transfer
Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration that is often imposed by a state policy or international authority. Such mass migrations are most frequently spurred on the basis of ethnicity or religion, but they also occur d ...
. ''Transfer'' in this case literally means to move or pass from one place to another. The
ICRC has expressed the opinion, "that international humanitarian law prohibits the establishment of settlements, as these are a form of population transfer into occupied territory".
Article 50: Children
Article 51: Recruitment of Protected persons
The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces. No pressure or propaganda which aims at securing voluntary enlistment is permitted.
The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons to work unless they are over eighteen years of age, and then only on work which is necessary either for the needs of the army of occupation, or for the public utility services, or for the feeding, sheltering, clothing, transportation or health of the population of the occupied country. Protected persons may not be compelled to undertake any work which would involve them in the obligation of taking part in military operations. The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons to employ forcible means to ensure the security of the installations where they are performing compulsory labour.
The work shall be carried out only in the occupied territory where the persons whose services have been requisitioned are. Every such person shall, so far as possible, be kept in his usual place of employment. Workers shall be paid a fair wage and the work shall be proportionate to their physical and intellectual capacities. The legislation in force in the occupied country concerning working conditions, and safeguards as regards, in particular, such matters as wages, hours of work, equipment, preliminary training and compensation for occupational accidents and diseases, shall be applicable to the protected persons assigned to the work referred to in this Article.
In no case shall requisition of labour lead to a mobilization of workers in an organization of a military or semi-military character.
Article 53: Prohibited destruction
In
The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949. Commentary,
Jean Pictet writes:
Article 56: Hygiene and public health
Article 56 describes the medical obligations the occupying power has in the occupied territory:
Article 78: Security measures. Internment and assigned residence. Right of appeal
Article 78 deals with
internment. It allows the occupying power for "imperative reasons of security" to "subject them
rotected personsto assigned residence or to internment". The article does not allow the occupying power to take collective measures: each case must be decided separately.
Part IV. Execution of the Convention
This part contains "the formal or diplomatic provisions which it is customary to place at the end of an international Convention to settle the procedure for bringing it into effect are grouped together under this heading" (1). They are similar in all four Geneva Conventions.
Commentary: Part IV : Execution of the convention #Section II : Final provisions
Retrieved 28 October 2008
Annexes
The ICRC commentary on the Fourth Geneva convention states that when the establishment of hospital and safety zones in occupied territories were discussed reference was made to a draft agreement and it was agreed to append it as an annex I to the Fourth Geneva Convention.[ICR]
Commentary: Annex I : Draft agreement relating to hospital and safety zones and localities
Retrieved 28 October 2008
The ICRC states that "the Draft Agreement has only been put forward to States as a model, but the fact that it as carefully drafted at the Diplomatic Conference, which finally adopted it, gives it a very real value. It could usefully be taken as a working basis, therefore, whenever a hospital zone is to be established."[
The ICRC states that Annex II is a "draft which, according to Article 109 (paragraph 1) of the Convention, will be applied in the absence of special agreements between the Parties, deals with the conditions for the receipt and distribution of collective relief shipments. It is based on the traditions of the International Committee of the Red Cross which submitted it, and on the experience the Committee gained during the Second World War."][ICR]
Commentary: Annex II : Draft regulations concerning collective relief
Retrieved 28 October 2008
Annex III contains an example internment card, letter and correspondence card:[ICRC]
Commentary: Annex III Model internment cards, letters and correspondence cards
Retrieved 28 October 2008
# An example internment card with dimensions of 10 × 15 cm.
# An example letter with dimensions of 29 × 15 cm.
# An example correspondence card with dimensions of 10 × 15 cm.
See also
* List of parties to the Geneva Conventions
*Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...
*Globalization
Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
*Human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
*International humanitarian law
International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict or the laws of war, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''wikt:jus in bello, jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit ...
Notes
References
External links
Rev. Mons. Sebastiao Francisco Xavier dos Remedios Monteiro v. The State of Goa, Supreme Court of India
Committee of the Red Cross: Full text of GCIV with commentaries
Text of the Fourth Geneva Convention (PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geneva Convention, 4
4
Collective punishment
International law
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