Protecting peace: the Geneva Convention
The four Geneva Conventions and three additional protocols contain rules for the protection of persons who, in the event of armed conflict, do not or no longer take part in the fighting. The Geneva Convention also grants the right to internment. Its provisions have developed successively over the course of world history. The first step towards the protection of people in conflict situations Development of the Geneva Convention was taken by Geneva’s Henry Dunant (1828-1910), who initiated the first steps after the battle of Solferino (1859) with its heavy losses and whose humanitarian initiative ultimately led to the founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Conflict means a need for protection
Internment refers to a state-organised deprivation of liberty. According to the Geneva Convention, belligerent states are allowed to keep members of foreign states on their territory separate from the population and then to house them in isolation. Neutral states, for their part, have the possibility of interning members of belligerent states on their neutral territory. In particular, persons who flee their country for fear of persecution, for reasons of origin, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or because of their political convictions are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of their home country and are thus dependent on the protection of foreign states.
Continuous amendment
In the course of history, the law was repeatedly adapted to new challenges due to continuously changing weapons technology and methods of warfare: In 1864, 1899, 1906, 1907 and 1929, several agreements were adopted at international conferences in Geneva and The Hague to protect war victims and to regulate the methods and means of warfare. However, the Second World War showed that further efforts were needed. In 1949, an international conference in Geneva drew up the four Geneva Conventions that are in force today. They were supplemented by three additional protocols in 1977 and 2005. The legal status of civilian refugees was not regulated until 1951 with the Geneva Refugee Convention.
The four conventions
The Convention of 1864, which applied to the Bourbaki internment, regulated only the protection of military personnel. The revised first and second conventions of 1949 oblige the warring parties to provide special protection for the wounded, the sick and shipwrecked, as well as medical personnel, ambulances and hospitals. They must be recovered and cared for – regardless of nationality – by the party to the conflict in whose hands they are. They also establish a distinguishing mark for hospitals, ambulances and personnel: white flags, or armbands with a red cross. The third and fourth Geneva Conventions contain detailed rules on the treatment of prisoners of war. The fourth Geneva Convention protects civilians who are in enemy hands - in their own territory or in an occupied territory.
Additional Protocols
The First Additional Protocol of 1977 supplements the rules governing international armed conflicts. It also contains certain restrictions such as the prohibition of attacks on civilians and civilian objects and the limitation of means and methods of warfare. The Second Additional Protocol of 1977 supplements Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which is the only provision applicable also in non-international armed conflicts. The Third Additional Protocol provides for the introduction of the red crystal as an additional emblem. Since 2007, this can be used in addition to the red cross and red crescent emblems already provided for by the Geneva Conventions to signal persons and objects in need of special protection. By 2023, 196 states have ratified the Geneva Conventions.
