from 21 April to 12 August, 1949
entry into force 21 October 1950
PART I
Article 1
The High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for
the present Convention in all circumstances.
Article 2
In addition to the provisions which shall be implemented in peacetime, the
present Convention shall apply to all cases of declared war or of any other armed
conflict which may arise between two or more of the High Contracting Parties,
even if the state of war is not recognized by one of them.
The Convention shall also apply to all cases of partial or total occupation
of the territory of a High Contracting Party, even if the said occupation meets
with no armed resistance.
Although one of the Powers in conflict may not be a party to the present Convention,
the Powers who are parties thereto shall remain bound by it in their mutual relations.
They shall furthermore be bound by the Convention in relation to the said Power,
if the latter accepts and applies the provisions thereof.
Article 3
In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in
the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict
shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
1. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed
forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness,
wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely,
without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex,
birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.
To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time
and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation,
cruel treatment and torture;
(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
guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.
2. The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.
An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the
Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.
The Parties to the conflict should further endeavour to bring into force, by
means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of the present
Convention.
The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal status
of the Parties to the conflict.
Article 4
Persons protected by the Convention are those who, at a given moment and in
any manner whatsoever, find themselves, in case of a conflict or occupation, in
the hands of a Party to the conflict or Occupying Power of which they are not
nationals.
Nationals of a State which is not bound by the Convention are not protected
by it. Nationals of a neutral State who find themselves in the territory of a
belligerent State, and nationals of a co-belligerent State, shall not be regarded
as protected persons while the State of which they are nationals has normal diplomatic
representation in the State in whose hands they are.
The provisions of Part II are, however, wider in application, as defined in
Article 13.
Persons protected by the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition
of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949, or by
the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and
Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of August 12, 1949, or by the Geneva
Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949, shall
not be considered as protected persons within the meaning of the present Convention.
Article 5
Where, in the territory of a Party to the conflict, the latter is satisfied
that an individual protected person is definitely suspected of or engaged in activities
hostile to the security of the State, such individual person shall not be entitled
to claim such rights and privileges under the present Convention as would, if
exercised in the favour of such individual person, be prejudicial to the security
of such State.
Where in occupied territory an individual protected person is detained as a
spy or saboteur, or as a person under definite suspicion of activity hostile to
the security of the Occupying Power, such person shall, in those cases where absolute
military security so requires, be regarded as having forfeited rights of communication
under the present Convention.
In each case, 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. They shall also be granted the full rights
and privileges of a protected person under the present Convention at the earliest
date consistent with the security of the State or Occupying Power, as the case
may be.
Article 6
The present Convention shall apply from the outset of any conflict or occupation
mentioned in Article 2.
In the territory of Parties to the conflict, the application of the present
Convention shall cease on the general close of military operations.
In the case of occupied territory, the application of the present Convention
shall cease one year after the general close of military operations; however,
the Occupying Power shall be bound, for the duration of the occupation, to the
extent that such Power exercises the functions of government in such territory,
by the provisions of the following Articles of the present Convention: I to 12,
27, 29 to 34, 47, 49, 51, 52, 53, 59, 61 to 77, and 143.
Protected persons whose release, repatriation or re-establishment may take
place after such dates shall meanwhile continue to benefit by the present Convention.
Article 7
In addition to the agreements expressly provided for in Articles 11, 14, 15,
17, 36, 108, 109, 132, 133 and 149, the High Contracting Parties may conclude
other special agreements for all matters concerning which they may deem it suitable
to make separate provision. No special agreement shall adversely affect the situation
of protected persons, as defined by the present Convention, nor restrict the rights
which it confers upon them.
Protected persons shall continue to have the benefit of such agreements as
long as the Convention is applicable to them, except where express provisions
to the contrary are contained in the aforesaid or in subsequent agreements, or
where more favourable measures have been taken with regard to them by one or other
of the Parties to the conflict.
Article 8
Protected persons may in no circumstances renounce in part or in entirety the
rights secured to them by the present Convention, and by the special agreements
referred to in the foregoing Article, if such there be.
Article 9
The present Convention shall be applied with the cooperation and under the
scrutiny of the Protecting Powers whose duty it is to safeguard the interests
of the Parties to the conflict. For this purpose, the Protecting Powers may appoint,
apart from their diplomatic or consular staff, delegates from amongst their own
nationals or the nationals of other neutral Powers. The said delegates shall be
subject to the approval of the Power with which they are to carry out their duties.
The Parties to the conflict shall facilitate to the greatest extent possible
the task of the representatives or delegates of the Protecting Powers.
The representatives or delegates of the Protecting Powers shall not in any
case exceed their mission under the present Convention. They shall, in particular,
take account of the imperative necessities of security of the State wherein they
carry out their duties.
Article 10
The provisions of the present Convention constitute no obstacle to the humanitarian
activities which the International Committee of the Red Cross or any other impartial
humanitarian organization may, subject to the consent of the Parties to the conflict
concerned, undertake for the protection of civilian persons and for their relief.
Article 11
The High Contracting Parties may at any time agree to entrust to an organization
which offers all guarantees of impartiality and efficacy the duties incumbent
on the Protecting Powers by virtue of the present Convention.
When persons protected by the present Convention do not benefit or cease to
benefit, no matter for what reason, by the activities of a Protecting Power or
of an organization provided for in the first paragraph above, the Detaining Power
shall request a neutral State, or such an organization, to undertake the functions
performed under the present Convention by a Protecting Power designated by the
Parties to a conflict.
If protection cannot be arranged accordingly, the Detaining Power shall request
or shall accept, subject to the provisions of this Article, the offer of the services
of a humanitarian organization, such as the International Committee of the Red
Cross, to assume the humanitarian functions performed by Protecting Powers under
the present Convention.
Any neutral Power, or any organization invited by the Power concerned or offering
itself for these purposes, shall be required to act with a sense of responsibility
towards the Party to the conflict on which persons protected by the present Convention
depend, and shall be required to furnish sufficient assurances that it is in a
position to undertake the appropriate functions and to discharge them impartially.
No derogation from the preceding provisions shall be made by special agreements
between Powers one of which is restricted, even temporarily, in its freedom to
negotiate with the other Power or its allies by reason of military events, more
particularly where the whole, or a substantial part, of the territory of the said
Power is occupied.
Whenever in the present Convention mention is made of a Protecting Power, such
mention applies to substitute organizations in the sense of the present Article.
The provisions of this Article shall extend and be adapted to cases of nationals
of a neutral State who are in occupied territory or who find themselves in the
territory of a belligerent State with which the State of which they are nationals
has not normal diplomatic representation.
Article 12
In cases where they deem it advisable in the interest of protected persons,
particularly in cases of disagreement between the Parties to the conflict as to
the application or interpretation of the provisions of the present Convention,
the Protecting Powers shall lend their good offices with a view to settling the
disagreement. For this purpose, each of the Protecting Powers may, either at the
invitation of one Party or on its own initiative, propose to the Parties to the
conflict a meeting of their representatives, and in particular of the authorities
responsible for protected person, possibly on neutral territory suitably chosen.
The Parties to the conflict shall be bound to give effect to the proposals made
to them for this purpose. The Protecting Powers may, if necessary, propose for
approval by the Parties to the conflict, a person belonging to a neutral Power
or delegated by the International Committee of the Red Cross who shall be invited
to take part in such a meeting.
PART II
GENERAL PROTECTION OF POPULATIONS
AGAINST CERTAIN CONSEQUENCES OF WAR
Article 13
The provisions of Part II cover the whole of the populations of the countries
in conflict, without any adverse distinction based, in particular, on race, nationality,
religion or political opinion, and are intended to alleviate the sufferings caused
by war.
Article 14
In time of peace, the High Contracting Parties and, after the outbreak of hostilities,
the Parties thereto, may establish in their own territory and, if the need arises,
in occupied areas, hospital and safety zones and localities so organized as to
protect from the effects of war, wounded, sick and aged persons, children under
fifteen, expectant mothers and mothers of children under seven.
Upon the outbreak and during the course of hostilities, the Parties concerned
may conclude agreements on mutual recognition of the zones and localities they
have created. They may for this purpose implement the provisions of the Draft
Agreement annexed to-the present Convention, with such amendments as they may
consider necessary.
The Protecting Powers and the International Committee of the Red Cross are
invited to lend their good offices in order to facilitate the institution and
recognition of these hospital and safety zones and localities.
Article 15
Any Party to the conflict may, either directly or through a neutral State or
some humanitarian organization, propose to the adverse Party to establish, in
the regions where fighting is taking place, neutralized zones intended to shelter
from the effects of war the following persons, without distinction:
(a) Wounded and sick combatants or non-combatants;
(b) Civilian persons who take no part in hostilities, and who, while they reside
in the zones, perform no work of a military character.
When the Parties concerned have agreed upon the geographical position, administration,
food supply and supervision of the proposed neutralized zone, a written agreement
shall be concluded and signed by the representatives of the Parties to the conflict.
The agreement shall fix the beginning and the duration of the neutralization of
the zone.
Article 16
The wounded and sick, as well as the infirm, and expectant mothers, shall be
the object of particular protection and respect.
As far as military considerations allow, each Party to the conflict shall facilitate
the steps taken to search for the killed and wounded, to assist the shipwrecked
and other persons exposed to grave danger, and to protect them against pillage
and ill-treatment.
Article 1 7
The Parties to the conflict shall endeavour to conclude local agreements for
the removal from besieged or encircled areas, of wounded, sick, infirm, and aged
persons, children and maternity cases, and for the passage of ministers of all
religions, medical personnel and medical equipment on their way to such areas.
Article 18
Civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm
and maternity cases, may in no circumstances be the object of attack, but shall
at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict.
States which are Parties to a conflict shall provide all civilian hospitals
with certificates showing that they are civilian hospitals and that the buildings
which they occupy are not used for any purpose which would deprive these hospitals
of protection in accordance with Article 19.
Civilian hospitals shall be marked by means of the emblem provided for in Article
38 of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded
and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949, but only if so authorized
by the State.
The Parties to the conflict shall, in so far as military considerations permit,
take the necessary steps to make the distinctive emblems indicating civilian hospitals
clearly visible to the enemy land, air and naval forces in order to obviate the
possibility of any hostile action.
In view of the dangers to which hospitals may be exposed by being close to
military objectives, it is recommended that such hospitals be situated as far
as possible from such objectives.
Article 19
The protection to which civilian hospitals are entitled shall not cease unless
they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian duties, acts harmful to the
enemy. Protection may, however, cease only after due warning has been given, naming,
in all appropriate cases, a reasonable time limit, and after such warning has
remained unheeded.
The fact that sick or wounded members of the armed forces are nursed in these
hospitals, or the presence of small arms and ammunition taken from such combatants
which have not yet been handed to the proper service, shall not be considered
to be acts harmful to the enemy.
Article 20
Persons regularly and solely engaged in the operation and administration of
civilian hospitals, including the personnel engaged in the search for, removal
and transporting of and caring for wounded and sick civilians, the infirm and
maternity cases, shall be respected and protected.
In occupied territory and in zones of military operations, the above personnel
shall be recognizable by means of an identity card certifying their status, bearing
the photograph of the holder and embossed with the stamp of the responsible authority,
and also by means of a stamped, water-resistant armlet which they shall wear on
the left arm while carrying out their duties. This armlet shall be issued by the
State and shall bear the emblem provided for in Article 38 of the Geneva Convention
for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces
in the Field of August 12, 1949.
Other personnel who are engaged in the operation and administration of civilian
hospitals shall be entitled to respect and protection and to wear the armlet,
as provided in and under the conditions prescribed in this Article, while they
are employed on such duties. The identity card shall state the duties on which
they are employed.
The management of each hospital shall at all times hold at the disposal of
the competent national or occupying authorities an up-to-date list of such personnel.
Article 21
Convoys of vehicles or hospital trains on land or specially provided vessels
on sea, conveying wounded and sick civilians, the infirm and maternity cases,
shall be respected and protected in the same manner as the hospitals provided
for in Article 18, and shall be marked, with the consent of the State, by the
display of the distinctive emblem provided for in Article 38 of the Geneva Convention
for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces
in the Field of August 12, 1949.
Article 22
Aircraft exclusively employed for the removal of wounded and sick civilians,
the infirm and maternity cases, or for the transport of medical personnel and
equipment, shall not be attacked, but shall be respected while flying at heights,
times and on routes specifically agreed upon between all the Parties to the conflict
concerned.
They may be marked with the distinctive emblem provided for in Article 38 of
the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and
Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949.
Unless agreed otherwise, flights over enemy or enemy-occupied territory are
prohibited.
Such aircraft shall obey every summons to land. In the event of a landing thus
imposed, the aircraft with its occupants may continue its flight after examination,
if any.
Article 23
Each High Contracting Party shall allow the free passage of all consignments
of medical and hospital stores and objects necessary for religious worship intended
only for civilians of another High Contracting Party, even if the latter is its
adversary. It shall likewise permit the free passage of all consignments of essential
foodstuffs, clothing and tonics intended for children under fifteen, expectant
mothers and maternity cases.
The obligation of a High Contracting Party to allow the free passage of the
consignments indicated in the preceding paragraph is subject to the condition
that this Party is satisfied that there are no serious reasons for fearing:
(a) That the consignments may be diverted from their destination;
(b) That the control may not be effective; or
(c) That a definite advantage may accrue to the military efforts or economy
of the enemy through the substitution of the above-mentioned consignments for
goods which would otherwise be provided or produced by the
enemy or through the release of such material, services or facilities as would
otherwise be required for the production of such goods.
The Power which allows the passage of the consignments indicated in the first
paragraph of this Article may make such permission conditional on the distribution
to the persons benefited there by being made under the local supervision of the
Protecting Powers.
Such consignments shall be forwarded as rapidly as possible, and the Power
which permits their free passage shall have the right to prescribe the technical
arrangements under which such passage is allowed.
Article 24
The Parties to the conflict shall take the necessary measures to ensure that
children under fifteen, who are orphaned or are separated from their families
as a result of the war, are not left to their own resources, and that their maintenance,
the exercise of their religion and their education are facilitated in all circumstances.
Their education shall, as far as possible, be entrusted to persons of a similar
cultural tradition.
The Parties to the conflict shall facilitate the reception of such children
in a neutral country for the duration of the conflict with the consent of the
Protecting Power, if any, and under due safeguards for the observance of the principles
stated in the first paragraph.
They shall, furthermore, endeavour to arrange for all children under twelve
to be identified by the wearing of identity discs, or by some other means.
Article 25
All persons in the territory of a Party to the conflict, or in a territory
occupied by it, shall be enabled to give news of a strictly personal nature to
members of their families, wherever they may be, and to receive news from them.
This correspondence shall be forwarded speedily and without undue delay.
If, as a result of circumstances, it becomes difficult or impossible to exchange
family correspondence by the ordinary post, the Parties to the conflict concerned
shall apply to a neutral intermediary, such as the Central Agency provided for
in Article 140, and shall decide in consultation with it how to ensure the fulfilment
of their obligations under the best possible conditions, in particular with the
cooperation of the National Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun) Societies.
If the Parties to the conflict deem it necessary to restrict family correspondence,
such restrictions shall be confined to the compulsory use of standard forms containing
twenty-five freely chosen words, and to the limitation of the number of these
forms despatched to one each month.
Article 26
Each Party to the conflict shall facilitate enquiries made by members of families
dispersed owing to the war, with the object of renewing contact with one another
and of meeting, if possible. It shall encourage, in particular, the work of organizations
engaged on this task provided they are acceptable to it and conform to its security
regulations.
PART III
STATUS AND TREATMENT OF PROTECTED PERSONS
SECTION I
PROVISIONS COMMON TO THE TERRITORIES OF THE PARTIES
TO TEE CONFLICT AND TO OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Article 27
Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their
persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and practices,
and their manners and customs. They shall at all times be humanely treated, and
shall be protected especially against all acts of violence or threats thereof
and against insults and public curiosity.
Women shall be especially protected against any attack on their honour, in
particular against rape, enforced prostitution, or any form of indecent assault.
Without prejudice to the provisions relating to their state of health, age
and sex, all protected persons shall be treated with the same consideration by
the Party to the conflict in whose power they are, without any adverse distinction
based, in particular, on race, religion or political opinion.
However, the Parties to the conflict may take such measures of control and
security in regard to protected persons as may be necessary as a result of the
war.
Article 28
The presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points
or areas immune from military operations.
Article 29
The Party to the conflict in whose hands protected persons may be is responsible
for the treatment accorded to them by its agents, irrespective of any individual
responsibility which may be incurred.
Article 30
Protected persons shall have every facility for making application to the Protecting
Powers, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the National Red Cross (Red
Crescent, Red Lion and Sun) Society of the country where they may be, as well
as to any organization that might assist them.
These several organizations shall be granted all facilities for that purpose
by the authorities, within the bounds set by military or security considerations.
Apart from the visits of the delegates of the Protecting Powers and of the
International Committee of the Red Cross, provided for by Article 143, the Detaining
or Occupying Powers shall facilitate as much as possible visits to protected persons
by the representatives of other organizations whose object is to give spiritual
aid or material relief to such persons.
Article 31
No physical or moral coercion shall be exercised against protected persons,
in particular to obtain information from them or from third parties.
Article 32
The High Contracting Parties specifically agree that each of them is prohibited
from taking any measure of such a character as to cause the physical suffering
or extermination of protected persons in their hands. This prohibition applies
not only to murder, torture, corporal punishment, mutilation and medical or scientific
experiments not necessitated by the medical treatment of a protected person but
also to any other measures of brutality whether applied by civilian or military
agents.
Article 33
No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally
committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of
terrorism are prohibited.
Pillage is prohibited.
Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited.
Article 34
The taking of hostages is prohibited.
SECTION 11
ALIENS IN THE TERRITORY OF A PARTY TO THE CONFLICT
Article 35
All protected persons who may desire to leave the territory at the outset of,
or during a conflict, shall be entitled to do so, unless their departure is contrary
to the national interests of the State. The applications of such persons to leave
shall be decided in accordance with regularly established procedures and the decision
shall be taken as rapidly as possible. Those persons permitted to leave may provide
themselves with the necessary funds for their journey and take with them a reasonable
amount of their effects and articles of personal use.
If any such person is refused permission to leave the territory, he shall be
entitled to have such refusal reconsidered as soon as possible by an appropriate
court or administrative board designated by the Detaining Power for that purpose.
Upon request, representatives of the Protecting Power shall, unless reasons
of security prevent it, or the persons concerned object, be furnished with the
reasons for refusal of any request for permission to leave the territory and be
given, as expeditiously as possible, the names of all persons who have been denied
permission to leave.
Article 36
Departures permitted under the foregoing Article shall be carried out in satisfactory
conditions as regards safety, hygiene, sanitation and food. All costs in connection
therewith, from the point of exit in the territory of the Detaining Power, shall
be borne by the country of destination, or, in the case of accommodation in a
neutral country, by the Power whose nationals are benefited. The practical details
of such movements may, if necessary, be settled by special agreements between
the Powers concerned.
The foregoing shall not prejudice such special agreements as may be concluded
between Parties to the conflict concerning the exchange and repatriation of their
nationals in enemy hands.
Article 37
Protected persons who are confined pending proceedings or serving a sentence
involving loss of liberty shall during their confinement be humanely treated.
As soon as they are released, they may ask to leave the territory in conformity
with the foregoing Articles.
Article 38
With the exception of special measures authorized by the present Convention,
in particular by Articles 27 and 41 thereof, the situation of protected persons
shall continue to be regulated, in principle, by the provisions concerning aliens
in time of peace. In any case, the following rights shall be granted to them:
1. They shall be enabled to receive the individual or collective relief that
may be sent to them.
2. They shall, if their state of health so requires, receive medical attention
and hospital treatment to the same extent as the nationals of the State concerned.
3. They shall be allowed to practise their religion and to receive spiritual
assistance from ministers of their faith.
4. If they reside in an area particularly exposed to the dangers of war, they
shall be authorized to move from that area to the same extent as the nationals
of the State concerned.
5. Children under fifteen years, pregnant women and mothers of children under
seven years shall benefit by any preferential treatment to the same extent as
the nationals of the State concerned.
Article 39
Protected persons who, as a result of the war, have lost their gainful employment,
shall be granted the opportunity to find paid employment. That opportunity shall,
subject to security considerations and to the provisions of Article 40, be equal
to that enjoyed by the nationals of the Power in whose territory they are.
Where a Party to the conflict applies to a protected person methods of control
which result in his being unable to support himself, and especially if such a
person is prevented for reasons of security from finding paid employment on reasonable
conditions, the said Party shall ensure his support and that of his dependents.
Protected persons may in any case receive allowances from their home country,
the Protecting Power, or the relief societies referred to in Article 30.
Article 40
Protected persons may be compelled to work only to the same extent as nationals
of the Party to the conflict in whose territory they are.
If protected persons are of enemy nationality, they may only be compelled to
do work which is normally necessary to ensure the feeding, sheltering, clothing,
transport and health of human beings and which is not directly related to the
conduct of military operations.
In the cases mentioned in the two preceding paragraphs, protected persons compelled
to work shall have the benefit of the same working conditions and of the same
safeguards as national workers, in particular as regards wages, hours of labour,
clothing and equipment, previous training and compensation for occupational accidents
and diseases.
If the above provisions are infringed, protected persons shall be allowed to
exercise their right of complaint in accordance with Article 30.
Article 41
Should the Power in whose hands protected persons may be consider the measures
of control mentioned in the present Convention to be inadequate, it may not have
recourse to any other measure of control more severe than that of assigned residence
or internment, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 42 and 43.
In applying the provisions of Article 39, second paragraph, to the cases of
persons required to leave their usual places of residences by virtue of a decision
placing them in assigned residence elsewhere. the Detaining Power shall be guided
as closely as possible by the standards of welfare set forth in Part III, Section
IV of this Convention.
Article 42
The internment or placing in assigned residence of protected persons may be
ordered only if the security of the Detaining Power makes it absolutely necessary.
If any person, acting through the representatives of the Protecting Power,
voluntarily demands internment, and if his situation renders this step necessary,
he shall be interned by the Power in whose hands he may be.
Article 43
Any protected person who has been interned or placed in assigned residence
shall be entitled to have such action reconsidered as soon as possible by an appropriate
court or administrative board designated by the Detaining Power for that purpose.
If the internment or placing in assigned residence is maintained, the court or
administrative board shall periodically, and at least twice yearly, give consideration
to his or her case, with a view to the favourable amendment of the initial decision,
if circumstances permit.
Unless the protected persons concerned object, the Detaining Power shall, as
rapidly as possible, give the Protecting Power the names of any protected persons
who have been interned or subjected to assigned residence, or who have been released
from internment or assigned residence. The decisions of the courts or boards mentioned
in the first paragraph of the present Article shall also, subject to the same
conditions, be notified as rapidly as possible to the Protecting Power.
Article 44
In applying the measures of control mentioned in the present Convention, the
Detaining Power shall not treat as enemy aliens exclusively on the basis of their
nationality de jure of an enemy State, refugees who do not, in fact, enjoy the
protection of any government.
Article 45
Protected persons shall not be transferred to a Power which is not a party
to the Convention.
This provision shall in no way constitute an obstacle to the repatriation of
protected persons, or to their return to their country of residence after the
cessation of hostilities.
Protected persons may be transferred by the Detaining Power only to a Power
which is a party to the present Convention and after the Detaining Power has satisfied
itself of the willingness and ability of such transferee Power to apply the present
Convention. If protected persons are transferred under such circumstances, responsibility
for the application of the present Convention rests on the Power accepting them,
while they are in its custody. Nevertheless, if that Power fails to carry out
the provisions of the present Convention in any important respect, the Power by
which the protected persons were transferred shall, upon being so notified by
the Protecting Power, take effective measures to correct the situation or shall
request the return of the protected persons. Such request must be complied with.
In no circumstances shall a protected person be transferred to a country where
he or she may have reason to fear persecution for his or her political opinions
or religious beliefs.
The provisions of this Article do not constitute an obstacle to the extradition,
in pursuance of extradition treaties concluded before the outbreak of hostilities,
of protected persons accused of offences against ordinary criminal law.
Article 46
In so far as they have not been previously withdrawn, restrictive measures
taken regarding protected persons shall be cancelled as soon as possible after
the close of hostilities.
Restrictive measures affecting their property shall be cancelled, in accordance
with the law of the Detaining Power, as soon as possible after the close of hostilities.
SECTION 111
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Article 47
Protected persons who are in occupied territory shall not be deprived, in any
case or in any manner whatsoever, of the benefits of the present Convention by
any change introduced, as the result of the occupation of a territory, into the
institutions or government of the said territory, nor by any agreement concluded
between the authorities of the occupied territories and the Occupying Power, nor
by any annexation by the latter of the whole or part of the occupied territory.
Article 48
Protected persons who are not nationals of the Power whose territory is occupied
may avail themselves of the right to leave the territory subject to the provisions
of Article 35, and decisions thereon shall be taken according to the procedure
which the Occupying Power shall establish in accordance with the said Article.
Article 49
Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected
persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to
that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their
motive.
Nevertheless, the Occupying Power may undertake total or partial evacuation
of a given area if the security of the population or imperative military reasons
do demand. Such evacuations may not involve the displacement of protected persons
outside the bounds of the occupied territory except when for material reasons
it is impossible to avoid such displacement. Persons thus evacuated shall be transferred
back to their homes as soon as hostilities in the area in question have ceased.
The Occupying Power undertaking such transfers or evacuations shall ensure,
to the greatest practicable extent, that proper accommodation is provided to receive
the protected persons, that the removals are effected in satisfactory conditions
of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and that members of the same family
are not separated.
The Protecting Power shall be informed of any transfers and evacuations as
soon as they have taken place.
The Occupying Power shall not detain protected persons in an area particularly
exposed to the dangers of war unless the security of the population or imperative
military reasons so demand.
The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian
population into the territory it occupies.
Article 50
The Occupying Power shall, with the cooperation of the national and local authorities,
facilitate the proper working of all institutions devoted to the care and education
of children.
The Occupying Power shall take all necessary steps to facilitate the identification
of children and the registration of their parentage. It may not, in any case,
change their personal status, nor enlist them in formations or organizations subordinate
to it.
Should the local institutions be inadequate for the purpose, the Occupying
Power shall make arrangements for the maintenance and education, if possible by
persons of their own nationality, language and religion, of children who are orphaned
or separated from their parents as a result of the war and who cannot be adequately
cared for by a near relative or friend.
A special section of the Bureau set up in accordance with Article 136 shall
be responsible for taking all necessary steps to identify children whose identity
is in doubt. Particulars of their parents or other near relatives should always
be recorded if available.
The Occupying Power shall not hinder the application of any preferential measures
in regard to food, medical care and protection against the effects of war, which
may have been adopted prior to the occupation in favour of children under fifteen
years, expectant mothers, and mothers of children under seven years.
Article 51
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 52
No contract, agreement or regulation shall impair the right of any worker,
whether voluntary or not and wherever he may be, to apply to the representatives
of the Protecting Power in order to request the said Power's intervention.
All measures aiming at creating unemployment or at restricting the opportunities
offered to workers in an occupied territory, in order to induce them to work for
the Occupying Power, are prohibited.
Article 53
Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging
individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other
public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited,
except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.
Article 54
The Occupying Power may not alter the status of public officials or judges
in the occupied territories, or in any way apply sanctions to or take any measures
of coercion or discrimination against them, should they abstain from fulfilling
their functions for reasons of conscience.
This prohibition does not prejudice the application of the second paragraph
of Article 51. It does not affect the right of the Occupying Power to remove public
officials from their posts.
Article 55
To the fullest extent of the means available to it the Occupying Power has
the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should,
in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles
if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate.
The Occupying Power may not requisition foodstuffs, articles or medical supplies
available in the occupied territory, except for use by the occupation forces and
administration personnel, and then only if the requirements of the civilian population
have been taken into account. Subject to the provisions of other international
Conventions, the Occupying Power shall make arrangements to ensure that fair value
is paid for any requisitioned goods.
The Protecting Power shall, at any time, be at liberty to verify the state
of the food and medical supplies in occupied territories, except where temporary
restrictions are made necessary by imperative military requirements.
Article 56
To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has
the duty of ensuring and maintaining, with the cooperation of national and local
authorities, the medical and hospital establishments and services, public health
and hygiene in the occupied territory, with particular reference to the adoption
and application of the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat
the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics. Medical personnel of all categories
shall be allowed to carry out their duties.
If new hospitals are set up in occupied territory and if the competent organs
of the occupied State are not operating there, the occupying authorities shall,
if necessary, grant them the recognition provided for in Article 18. In similar
circumstances, the occupying authorities shall also grant recognition to hospital
personnel and transport vehicles under the provisions of Articles 20 and 21.
In adopting measures of health and hygiene and in their implementation, the
Occupying Power shall take into consideration the moral and ethical susceptibilities
of the population of the occupied territory.
Article 57
The Occupying Power may requisition civilian hospitals only temporarily and
only in cases of urgent necessity for the care of military wounded and sick, and
then on condition that suitable arrangements are made in due time for the care
and treatment of the patients and for the needs of the civilian population for
hospital accommodation.
The material and stores of civilian hospitals cannot be requisitioned so long
as they are necessary for the needs of the civilian population.
Article 58
The Occupying Power shall permit ministers of religion to give spiritual assistance
to the members of their religious communities.
The Occupying Power shall also accept consignments of books and articles required
for religious needs and shall facilitate their distribution in occupied territory.
Article 59
If the whole or part of the population of an occupied territory is inadequately
supplied, the Occupying Power shall agree to relief schemes on behalf of the said
population, and shall facilitate them by all the means at its disposal.
Such schemes, which may be undertaken either by States or by impartial humanitarian
organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, shall consist,
in particular, of the provision of consignments of foodstuffs, medical supplies
and clothing.
All Contracting Parties shall permit the free passage of these consignments
and shall guarantee their protection.
A Power granting free passage to consignments on their way to territory occupied
by an adverse Party to the conflict shall, however, have the right to search the
consignments, to regulate their passage according to prescribed times and routes,
and to be reasonably satisfied through the Protecting Power that these consignments
are to be used for the relief of the needy population and are not to be used for
the benefit of the Occupying Power.
Article 60
Relief consignments shall in no way relieve the Occupying Power of any of its
responsibilities under Articles 55, 56 and 59. The Occupying Power shall in no
way whatsoever divert relief consignments from the purpose for which they are
intended, except in cases of urgent necessity, in the interests of the population
of the occupied territory and with the consent of the Protecting Power.
Article 61
The distribution of the relief consignments referred to in the foregoing Articles
shall be carried out with the cooperation and under the supervision of the Protecting
Power. This duty may also be delegated, by agreement between the Occupying Power
and the Protecting Power, to a neutral Power, to the International Committee of
the Red Cross or to any other impartial humanitarian body.
Such consignments shall be exempt in occupied territory from all charges, taxes
or customs duties unless these are necessary in the interests of the economy of
the territory. The Occupying Power shall facilitate the rapid distribution of
these consignments.
All Contracting Parties shall endeavour to permit the transit and transport,
free of charge, of such relief consignments on their way to occupied territories.
Article 62
Subject to imperative reasons of security, protected persons in occupied territories
shall be permitted to receive the individual relief consignments sent to them.
Article 63
Subject to temporary and exceptional measures imposed for urgent reasons of
security by the Occupying Power:
(a) Recognized National Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun) Societies
shall be able to pursue their activities in accordance with Red Cross principles,
as defined by the International Red Cross Conferences. Other relief societies
shall be permitted to continue their humanitarian activities under similar conditions;
(b) The Occupying Power may not require any changes in the personnel or structure
of these societies, which would prejudice the aforesaid activities.
The same principles shall apply to the activities and personnel of special
organizations of a non-military character, which already exist or which may be
established, for the purpose of ensuring the living conditions of the civilian
population by the maintenance of the essential public utility services, by the
distribution of relief and by the organization of rescues.
Article 64
The penal laws of the occupied territory shall remain in force, with the exception
that they may be repealed or suspended by the Occupying Power in cases where they
constitute a threat to its security or an obstacle to the application of the present
Convention. Subject to the latter consideration and to the necessity for ensuring
the effective administration of justice, the tribunals of the occupied territory
shall continue to function in respect of all offences covered by the said laws.
The Occupying Power may, however, subject the population of the occupied territory
to provisions which are essential to enable the Occupying Power to fulfil its
obligations under the present Convention, to maintain the orderly government of
the territory, and to ensure the security of the Occupying Power, of the members
and property of the occupying forces or administration, and likewise of the establishments
and lines of communication used by them.
Article 65
The penal provisions enacted by the Occupying Power shall not come into force
before they have been published and brought to the knowledge of the inhabitants
in their own language. The effect of these penal provisions shall not be retroactive.
Article 66
In case of a breach of the penal provisions promulgated by it by virtue of
the second paragraph of Article 64, the Occupying Power may hand over the accused
to its properly constituted, non-political military courts, on condition that
the said courts sit in the occupied country. Courts of appeal shall preferably
sit in the occupied country.
Article 67
The courts shall apply only those provisions of law which were applicable prior
to the offence, and which are in accordance with general principles of law, in
particular the principle that the penalty shall be proportioned to the offence.
They shall take into consideration the fact that the accused is not a national
of the Occupying Power.
Article 68
Protected persons who commit an offence which is solely intended to harm the
Occupying Power, but which does not constitute an attempt on the life or limb
of members of the occupying forces or administration, nor a grave collective danger,
nor seriously damage the property of the occupying forces or administration or
the installations used by them, shall be liable to internment or simple imprisonment,
provided the duration of such internment or imprisonment is proportionate to the
offence committed. Furthermore, internment or imprisonment shall, for such offences,
be the only measure adopted for depriving protected persons of liberty. The courts
provided for under Article 66 of the present Convention may at their discretion
convert a sentence of imprisonment to one of internment for the same period.
The penal provisions promulgated by the Occupying Power in accordance with
Articles 64 and 65 may impose the death penalty on a protected person only in
cases where the person is guilty of espionage, of serious acts of sabotage against
the military installations of the Occupying Power or of intentional offences which
have caused the death of one or more persons, provided that such offences were
punishable by death under the law of the occupied territory in force before the
occupation began.
The death penalty may not be pronounced against a protected person unless the
attention of the court has been particularly called to the fact that, since the
accused is not a national of the Occupying Power, he is not bound to it by any
duty of allegiance.
In any case, the death penalty may not be pronounced against a protected person
who was under eighteen years of age at the time of the offence.
Article 69
In all cases, the duration of the period during which a protected person accused
of an offence is under arrest awaiting trial or punishment shall be deducted from
any period of imprisonment awarded.
Article 70
Protected persons shall not be arrested, prosecuted or convicted by the Occupying
Power for acts committed or for opinions expressed before the occupation, or during
a temporary interruption thereof, with the exception of breaches of the laws and
customs of war.
Nationals of the Occupying Power who, before the outbreak of hostilities, have
sought refuge in the territory of the occupied State, shall not be arrested, prosecuted,
convicted or deported from the occupied territory, except for offences committed
after the outbreak of hostilities, or for offences under common law committed
before the outbreak of hostilities which, according to the law of the occupied
State, would have justified extradition in time of peace.
Article 71
No sentence shall be pronounced by the competent courts of the Occupying Power
except after a regular trial.
Accused persons who are prosecuted by the Occupying Power shall be promptly
informed, in writing, in a language which they understand, of the particulars
of the charges preferred against them, and shall be brought to trial as rapidly
as possible. The Protecting Power shall be informed of all proceedings instituted
by the Occupying Power against protected persons in respect of charges involving
the death penalty or imprisonment for two years or more; it shall be enabled,
at any time, to obtain information regarding the state of such proceedings. Furthermore,
the Protecting Power shall be entitled, on request, to be furnished with all particulars
of these and of any other proceedings instituted by the Occupying Power against
protected persons.
The notification to the Protecting Power, as provided for in the second paragraph
above, shall be sent immediately, and shall in any case reach the Protecting Power
three weeks before the date of the first hearing. Unless, at the opening of the
trial, evidence is submitted that the provisions of this Article are fully complied
with, the trial shall not proceed. The notification shall include the following
particulars:
(a) Description of the accused;
(b) Place of residence or detention;
(c) Specification of the charge or charges (with mention of the penal provisions
under which it is brought);
(d) Designation of the court which will hear the case;
(e) Place and date of the first hearing.
Article 72
Accused persons shall have the right to present evidence necessary to their
defence and may, in particular, call witnesses. They shall have the right to be
assisted by a qualified advocate or counsel of their own choice, who shall be
able to visit them freely and shall enjoy the necessary facilities for preparing
the defence.
Failing a choice by the accused, the Protecting Power may provide him with
an advocate or counsel. When an accused person has to meet a serious charge and
the Protecting Power is not functioning, the Occupying Power, subject to the consent
of the accused, shall provide an advocate or counsel.
Accused persons shall, unless they freely waive such assistance, be aided by
an interpreter, both during preliminary investigation and during the hearing in
court. They shall have the right at any time to object to the interpreter and
to ask for his replacement.
Article 73
A convicted person shall have the right of appeal provided for by the laws
applied by the court. He shall be fully informed of his right to appeal or petition
and of the time limit within which he may do so.
The penal procedure provided in the present Section shall apply, as far as
it is applicable, to appeals. Where the laws applied by the Court make no provision
for appeals, the convicted person shall have the right to petition against the
finding and sentence to the competent authority of the Occupying Power.
Article 74
Representatives of the Protecting Power shall have the right to attend the
trial of any protected person, unless the hearing has, as an exceptional measure,
to be held in camera in the interests of the security of the Occupying Power,
which shall then notify the Protecting Power. A notification in respect of the
date and place of trial shall be sent to the Protecting Power.
Any judgment involving a sentence of death, or imprisonment for two years or
more, shall be communicated, with the relevant grounds, as rapidly as possible
to the Protecting Power. The notification shall contain a reference to the notification
made under Article 71, and in the case of sentences of imprisonment, the name
of the place where the sentence is to be served. A record of judgments other than
those referred to above shall be kept by the court and shall be open to inspection
by representatives of the Protecting Power. Any period allowed for appeal in the
case of sentences involving the death penalty, or imprisonment for two years or
more, shall not run until notification of judgment has been received by the Protecting
Power.
Article 75
In no case shall persons condemned to death be deprived of the right of petition
for pardon or reprieve.
No death sentence shall be carried out before the expiration of a period of
at least six months from the date of receipt by the Protecting Power of the notification
of the final judgment confirming such death sentence, or of an order denying pardon
or reprieve.
The six months period of suspension of the death sentence herein prescribed
may be reduced in individual cases in circumstances of grave emergency involving
an organized threat to the security of the Occupying Power or its forces, provided
always that the Protecting Power is notified of such reduction and is given reasonable
time and opportunity to make representations to the competent occupying authorities
in respect of such death sentences.
Article 76
Protected persons accused of offences shall be detained in the occupied country,
and if convicted they shall serve their sentences therein. They shall, if possible,
be separated from other detainees and shall enjoy conditions of food and hygiene
which will be sufficient to keep them in good health, and which will be at least
equal to those obtaining in prisons in the occupied country.
They shall receive the medical attention required by their state of health.
They shall also have the right to receive any spiritual assistance which they
may require.
Women shall be confined in separate quarters and shall be under the direct
supervision of women.
Proper regard shall be paid to the special treatment due to minors.
Protected persons who are detained shall have the right to be visited by delegates
of the Protecting Power and of the International Committee of the Red Cross, in
accordance with the provisions of Article 143.
Such persons shall have the right to receive at least one relief parcel monthly.
Article 77
Protected persons who have been accused of offences or convicted by the courts
in occupied territory shall be handed over at the close of occupation, with the
relevant records, to the authorities of the liberated territory.
Article 78
If the Occupying Power considers it necessary, for imperative reasons of security,
to take safety measures concerning protected persons, it may, at the most, subject
them to assigned residence or to internment.
Decisions regarding such assigned residence or internment shall be made according
to a regular procedure to be prescribed by the Occupying Power in accordance with
the provisions of the present Convention. This procedure shall include the right
of appeal for the parties concerned. Appeals shall be decided with the least possible
delay. In the event of the decision being upheld, it shall be subject to periodical
review, if possible every six months, by a competent body set up by the said Power.
Protected persons made subject to assigned residence and thus required to leave
their homes shall enjoy the full benefit of Article 39 of the present Convention.
SECTION IV
REGULATIONS FOR THE TREATMENT OF INTERNEES
Chapter I
Article 79
The Parties to the conflict shall not intern protected persons, except in accordance
with the provisions of Articles 41, 42, 43, 68 and 78.
Article 80
Internees shall retain their full civil capacity and shall exercise such attendant
rights as may be compatible with their status.
Article 81
Parties to the conflict who intern protected persons shall be bound to provide
free of charge for their maintenance, and to grant them also the medical attention
required by their state of health.
No deduction from the allowances, salaries or credits due to the internees
shall be made for the repayment of these costs.
The Detaining Power shall provide for the support of those dependent on the
internees, if such dependants are without adequate means of support or are unable
to earn a living.
Article 82
The Detaining Power shall, as far as possible, accommodate the internees according
to their nationality, language and customs. Internees who are nationals of the
same country shall not be separated merely because they have different languages.
Throughout the duration of their internment, members of the same family, and
in particular parents and children, shall be lodged together in the same place
of internment, except when separation of a temporary nature is necessitated for
reasons of employment or health or for the purposes of enforcement of the provisions
of Chapter IX of the present Section. Internees may request that their children
who are left at liberty without parental care shall be interned with them.
Wherever possible, interned members of the same family shall be housed in the
same premises and given separate accommodation from other internees, together
with facilities for leading a proper family life.
Chapter II
Article 83
The Detaining Power shall not set up places of internment in areas particularly
exposed to the dangers of war.
The Detaining Power shall give the enemy Powers, through the intermediary of
the Protecting Powers, all useful information regarding the geographical location
of places of internment.
Whenever military considerations permit, internment camps shall be indicated
by the letters IC, placed so as to be clearly visible in the daytime from the
air. The Powers concerned may, however, agree upon any other system of marking.
No place other than an internment camp shall be marked as such.
Article 84
Internees shall be accommodated and administered separately from prisoners
of war and from persons deprived of liberty for any other reason.
Article 85
The Detaining Power is bound to take all necessary and possible measures to
ensure that protected persons shall, from the outset of their internment, be accommodated
in buildings or quarters which afford every possible safeguard as regards hygiene
and health, and provide efficient protection against the rigours of the climate
and the effects of the war. In no case shall permanent places of internment be
situated in unhealthy areas or in districts the climate of which is injurious
to the internees. In all cases where the district, in which a protected person
is temporarily interned , is in an unhealthy area or has a climate which is harmful
to his health, he shall be removed to a more suitable place of internment as rapidly
as circumstances permit.
The premises shall be fully protected from dampness, adequately heated and
lighted, in particular between dusk and lights out. The sleeping quarters shall
be sufficiently spacious and well ventilated, and the internees shall have suitable
bedding and sufficient blankets, account being taken of the climate, and the age,
sex, and state of health of the internees.
Internees shall have for their use, day and night, sanitary conveniences which
conform to the rules of hygiene and are constantly maintained in a state of cleanliness.
They shall be provided with sufficient water and soap for their daily personal
toilet and for washing their personal laundry; installations and facilities necessary
for this purpose shall be granted to them.
Showers or baths shall also be available. The necessary time shall be set aside
for washing and for cleaning.
Whenever it is necessary, as an exceptional and temporary measure, to accommodate
women internees who are not members of a family unit in the same place of internment
as men, the provision of separate sleeping quarters and sanitary conveniences
for the use of such women internees shall be obligatory.
Article 86
The Detaining Power shall place at the disposal of interned persons, of whatever
denomination, premises suitable for the holding of their religious services.
Article 87
Canteens shall be installed in every place of internment, except where other
suitable facilities are available. Their purpose shall be to enable internees
to make purchases, at prices not higher than local market prices, of foodstuffs
and articles of everyday use, including soap and tobacco, such as would increase
their personal well-being and comfort.
Profits made by canteens shall be credited to a welfare fund to be set up for
each place of internment, and administered for the benefit of the internees attached
to such place of internment. The Internee Committee provided for in Article 102
shall have the right to check the management of the canteen and of the said fund.
When a place of internment is closed down, the balance of the welfare fund
shall be transferred to the welfare fund of a place of internment for internees
of the same nationality, or, if such a place does not exist, to a central welfare
fund which shall be administered for the benefit of all internees remaining in
the custody of the Detaining Power. In case of a general release, the said profits
shall be kept by the Detaining Power, subject to any agreement to the contrary
between the Powers concerned.
Article 88
In all places of internment exposed to air raids and other hazards of war,
shelters adequate in number and structure to ensure the necessary protection shall
be installed. In case of alarms, the internees shall be free to enter such shelters
as quickly as possible, excepting those who remain for the protection of their
quarters against the aforesaid hazards. Any protective measures taken in favour
of the population shall also apply to them.
All due precautions must be taken in places of internment against the danger
of fire.
Chapter III
Article 89
Daily food rations for internees shall be sufficient in quantity, quality and
variety to keep internees in a good state of health and prevent the development
of nutritional deficiencies. Account shall also be taken of the customary diet
of the internees.
Internees shall also be given the means by which they can prepare for themselves
any additional food in their possession.
Sufficient drinking water shall be supplied to internees. The use of tobacco
shall be permitted.
Internees who work shall receive additional rations in proportion to the kind
of labour which they perform.
Expectant and nursing mothers and children under fifteen years of age shall
be given additional food, in proportion to their physiological needs.
Article 90
When taken into custody, internees shall be given all facilities to provide
themselves with the necessary clothing, footwear and change of underwear, and
later on, to procure further supplies if required. Should any internees not have
sufficient clothing, account being taken of the climate, and be unable to procure
any, it shall be provided free of charge to them by the Detaining Power.
The clothing supplied by the Detaining Power to internees and the outward markings
placed on their own clothes shall not be ignominious nor expose them to ridicule.
Workers shall receive suitable working outfits, including protective clothing,
whenever the nature of their work so requires.
Chapter IV
Article 91
Every place of internment shall have an adequate infirmary, under the direction
of a qualified doctor, where internees may have the attention they require, as
well as an appropriate diet. Isolation wards shall be set aside for cases of contagious
or mental diseases.
Maternity cases and internees suffering from serious diseases, or whose condition
requires special treatment, a surgical operation or hospital care, must be admitted
to any institution where adequate treatment can be given and shall receive care
not inferior to that provided for the general population.
Internees shall, for preference, have the attention of medical personnel of
their own nationality.
Internees may not be prevented from presenting themselves to the medical authorities
for examination. The medical authorities of the Detaining Power shall, upon request,
issue to every internee who has undergone treatment an official certificate showing
the nature of his illness or injury, and the duration and nature of the treatment
given. A duplicate of this certificate shall be forwarded to the Central Agency
provided for in Article 140.
Treatment, including the provision of any apparatus necessary for the maintenance
of internees in good health, particularly dentures and other artificial appliances
and spectacles, shall be free of charge to the internee.
Article 92
Medical inspections of internees shall be made at least once a month. Their
purpose shall be, in particular, to supervise the general state of health, nutrition
and cleanliness of internees, and to detect contagious diseases, especially tuberculosis,
malaria, and venereal diseases. Such inspections shall include, in particular,
the checking of weight of each internee and, at least once a year, radioscopic
examination.
Chapter V
RELIGIOUS, INTELLECTUAL AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES
Article 93
Internees shall enjoy complete latitude in the exercise of their religious
duties, including attendance at the services of their faith, on condition that
they comply with the disciplinary routine prescribed by the detaining authorities.
Ministers of religion who are interned shall be allowed to minister freely
to the members of their community. For this purpose, the Detaining Power shall
ensure their equitable allocation amongst the various places of internment in
which there are internees speaking the same language and be longing to the same
religion. Should such ministers be too few in number, the Detaining Power shall
provide them with the necessary facilities, including means of transport, for
moving from one place to another, and they shall be authorized to visit any internees
who are in hospital. Ministers of religion shall be at liberty to correspond on
matters concerning their ministry with the religious authorities in the country
of detention and, as far as possible, with the international religious organizations
of their faith. Such correspondence shall not be considered as forming a part
of the quota mentioned in Article 107. It shall, however, be subject to the provisions
of Article 112.
When internees do not have at their disposal the assistance of ministers of
their faith, or should these latter be too few in number, the local religious
authorities of the same faith may appoint, in agreement with the Detaining Power,
a minister of the internees' faith or, if such a course is feasible from a denominational
point of view, a minister of similar religion or a qualified layman. The latter
shall enjoy the facilities granted to the ministry he has assumed. Persons so
appointed shall comply with all regulations laid down by the Detaining Power in
the interests of discipline and security.
Article 94
The Detaining Power shall encourage intellectual, educational and recreational
pursuits, sports and games amongst internees, whilst leaving them free to take
part in them or not. It shall take all practicable measures to ensure the exercise
thereof, in particular by providing suitable premises.
All possible facilities shall be granted to internees to continue their studies
or to take up new subjects. The education of children and young people shall be
ensured; they shall be allowed to attend schools either within the place of internment
or outside.
Internees shall be given opportunities for physical exercise, sports and outdoor
games. For this purpose, sufficient open spaces shall be set aside in all places
of internment. Special playgrounds shall be reserved for children and young people.
Article 95
The Detaining Power shall not employ internees as workers, unless they so desire.
Employment which, if undertaken under compulsion by a protected person not in
internment, would involve a breach of Articles 40 or 51 of the present Convention,
and employment on work which is of a degrading or humiliating character are in
any case prohibited.
After a working period of six weeks, internees shall be free to give up work
at any moment, subject to eight days' notice.
These provisions constitute no obstacle to the right of the Detaining Power
to employ interned doctors, dentists and other medical personnel in their professional
capacity on behalf of their fellow internees, or to employ internees for administrative
and maintenance work in places of internment and to detail such persons for work
in the kitchens or for other domestic tasks, or to require such persons to undertake
duties connected with the protection of internees against aerial bombardment or
other war risks. No internee may, however, be required to perform tasks for which
he is, in the opinion of a medical officer, physically unsuited.
The Detaining Power shall take entire responsibility for all working conditions,
for medical attention, for the payment of wages, and for ensuring that all employed
internees receive compensation for occupational accidents and diseases. The standards
prescribed for the said working conditions and for compensation shall be in accordance
with the national laws and regulations, and with the existing practice; they shall
in no case be inferior to those obtaining for work of the same nature in the same
district. Wages for work done shall be determined on an equitable basis by special
agreements between the internees, the Detaining Power, and, if the case arises,
employers other than the Detaining Power, due regard being paid to the obligation
of the Detaining Power to provide for free maintenance of internees and for the
medical attention which their state of health may require. Internees permanently
detailed for categories of work mentioned in the third paragraph of this Article
shall be paid fair wages by the Detaining Power. The working conditions and the
scale of compensation for occupational accidents and diseases to internees thus
detailed shall not be inferior to those applicable to work of the same nature
in the same district.
Article 96
All labour detachments shall remain part of and dependent upon a place of internment.
The competent authorities of the Detaining Power and the commandant of a place
of internment shall be responsible for the observance in a labour detachment of
the provisions of the present Convention. The commandant shall keep an up-to-date
list of the labour detachments subordinate to him and shall communicate it to
the delegates of the Protecting Power, of the International Committee of the Red
Cross and of other humanitarian organizations who may visit the places of internment.
Chapter VI
Article 97
Internees shall be permitted to retain articles of personal use. Monies, cheques,
bonds, etc., and valuables in their possession may not be taken from them except
in accordance with established procedure. Detailed receipts shall be given therefor.
The amounts shall be paid into the account of every internee as provided for
in Article 98. Such amounts may not be converted into any other currency unless
legislation in force in the territory in which the owner is interned so requires
or the internee gives his consent.
Articles which have above all a personal or sentimental value may not
be taken away.
A woman internee shall not be searched except by a woman.
On release or repatriation, internees shall be given all articles, monies or
other valuables taken from them during internment and shall receive in currency
the balance of any credit to their accounts kept in accordance with Article 98,
with the exception of any articles or amounts withheld by the Detaining Power
by virtue of its legislation in force. If the property of an internee is so withheld,
the owner shall receive a detailed receipt.
Family or identity documents in the possession of internees may not be taken
away without a receipt being given. At no time shall internees be left without
identity documents. If they have none, they shall be issued with special documents
drawn up by the detaining authorities, which will serve as their identity papers
until the end of their internment.
Internees may keep on their persons a certain amount of money, in cash or in
the shape of purchase coupons, to enable them to make purchases.
Article 98
All internees shall receive regular allowances, sufficient to enable them to
purchase goods and articles, such as tobacco, toilet requisites, etc. Such allowances
may take the form of credits or purchase coupons.
Furthermore, internees may receive allowances from the Power to which they
owe allegiance, the Protecting Powers, the organizations which may assist them,
or their families, as well as the income on their property in accordance with
the law of the Detaining Power. The amount of allowances granted by the Power
to which they owe allegiance shall be the same for each category of internees
(infirm, sick, pregnant women, etc.), but may not be allocated by that Power or
distributed by the Detaining Power on the basis of discrimination between internees
which are prohibited by Article 27 of the present Convention.
The Detaining Power shall open a regular account for every internee, to which
shall be credited the allowances named in the present Article, the wages earned
and the remittances received, together with such sums taken from him as may be
available under the legislation in force in the territory in which he is interned.
Internees shall be granted all facilities consistent with the legislation in force
in such territory to make remittances to their families and to other dependants.
They may draw from their accounts the amounts necessary for their personal expenses,
within the limits fixed by the Detaining Power. They shall at all times be afforded
reasonable facilities for consulting and obtaining copies of their accounts. A
statement of accounts shall be furnished to the Protecting Power on request, and
shall accompany the internee in case of transfer.
Chapter VII
Article 99
Every place of internment shall be put under the authority of a responsible
officer, chosen from the regular military forces or the regular civil administration
of the Detaining Power. The officer in charge of the place of internment must
have in his possession a copy of the present Convention in the official language,
or one of the official languages, of his country and shall be responsible for
its application. The staff in control of internees shall be instructed in the
provisions of the present Convention and of the administrative measures adopted
to ensure its application.
The text of the present Convention and the texts of special agreements concluded
under the said Convention shall be posted inside the place of internment, in a
language which the internees understand, or shall be in the possession of the
Internee Committee.
Regulations, orders, notices and publications of every kind shall be communicated
to the internees and posted inside the places of internment, in a language which
they understand.
Every order and command addressed to internees individually must likewise be
given in a language which they understand.
Article 100
The disciplinary regime in places of internment shall be consistent with humanitarian
principles, and shall in no circumstances include regulations imposing on internees
any physical exertion dangerous to their health or involving physical or moral
victimization. Identification by tattooing or imprinting signs or markings on
the body is prohibited.
In particular, prolonged standing and roll-calls, punishment drill, military
drill and manoeuvres, or the reduction of food rations, are prohibited.
Article 101
Internees shall have the right to present to the authorities in whose power
they are any petition with regard to the conditions of internment to which they
are subjected.
They shall also have the right to apply without restriction through the Internee
Committee or, if they consider it necessary, direct to the representatives of
the Protecting Power, in order to indicate to them any points on which they may
have complaints to make with regard to the conditions of internment.
Such petitions and complaints shall be transmitted forthwith and without alteration,
and even if the latter are recognized to be unfounded, they may not occasion any
punishment.
Periodic reports on the situation in places of internment and as to the needs
of the internees may be sent by the Internee Committees to the representatives
of the Protecting Powers.
Article 102
In every place of internment, the internees shall freely elect by secret ballot
every six months, the members of a Committee empowered to represent them before
the Detaining and the Protecting Powers, the International Committee of the Red
Cross and any other organization which may assist them. The members of the Committee
shall be eligible for re-election.
Internees so elected shall enter upon their duties after their election has
been approved by the detaining authorities. The reasons for any refusals or dismissals
shall be communicated to the Protecting Powers concerned.
Article 103
The Internee Committees shall further the physical, spiritual and intellectual
well-being of the internees.
In case the internees decide, in particular, to organize a system of mutual
assistance amongst themselves, this organization would be within the competence
of the Committees in addition to the special duties entrusted to them under other
provisions of the present Convention.
Article 104
Members of Internee Committees shall not be required to perform any other work,
if the accomplishment of their duties is rendered more difficult thereby.
Members of Internee Committees may appoint from amongst the internees such
assistants as they may require. All material facilities shall be granted to them,
particularly a certain freedom of movement necessary for the accomplishment of
their duties (visits to labour detachments, receipt of supplies, etc.).
All facilities shall likewise be accorded to members of Internee Committees
for communication by post and telegraph with the detaining authorities, the Protecting
Powers, the International Committee of the Red Cross and their delegates, and
with the organizations which give assistance to internees. Committee members in
labour detachments shall enjoy similar facilities for communication with their
Internee Committee in the principal place of internment. Such communications shall
not be limited, nor considered as forming a part of the quota mentioned in Article
107.
Members of Internee Committees who are transferred shall be allowed a reasonable
time to acquaint their successors with current affairs.
Chapter VIII
Article 105
Immediately upon interning protected persons, the Detaining Power shall inform
them, the Power to which they owe allegiance and their Protecting Power of the
measures taken for executing the provisions of the present Chapter. The Detaining
Power shall likewise inform the Parties concerned of any subsequent modifications
of such measures.
Article 106
As soon as he is interned, or at the latest not more than one week after his
arrival in a place of internment, and likewise in cases of sickness or transfer
to another place of internment or to a hospital, every internee shall be enabled
to send direct to his family, on the one hand, and to the Central Agency provided
for by Article 140, on the other, an internment card similar, if possible, to
the model annexed to the present Convention, informing his relatives of his detention,
address and state of health. The said cards shall be forwarded as rapidly as possible
and may not be delayed in any way.
Article 107
Internees shall be allowed to send and receive letters and cards. If the Detaining
Power deems it necessary to limit the number of letters and cards sent by each
internee, the said number shall not be less than two letters and four cards monthly;
these shall be drawn up so as to conform as closely as possible to the models
annexed to the present Convention. If limitations must be placed on the correspondence
addressed to internees, they may be ordered only by the Power to which such internees
owe allegiance, possibly at the request of the Detaining Power. Such letters and
cards must be conveyed with reasonable despatch; they may not be delayed or retained
for disciplinary reasons.
Internees who have been a long time without news, or who find it impossible
to receive news from their relatives, or to give them news by the ordinary postal
route, as well as those who are at a considerable distance from their homes, shall
be allowed to send telegrams, the charges being paid by them in the currency at
their disposal. They shall likewise benefit by this provision in cases which are
recognized to be urgent.
As a rule, internees' mail shall be written in their own language. The Parties
to the conflict may authorize correspondence in other languages.
Article 108
Internees shall be allowed to receive, by post or by any other means, individual
parcels or collective shipments containing in particular foodstuffs, clothing,
medical supplies, as well as books and objects of a devotional, educational or
recreational character which may meet their needs. Such shipments shall in no
way free the Detaining Power from the obligations imposed upon it by virtue of
the present Convention.
Should military necessity require the quantity of such shipments to be limited,
due notice thereof shall be given to the Protecting Power and to the International
Committee of the Red Cross, or to any other organization giving assistance to
the internees and responsible for the forwarding of such shipments.
The conditions for the sending of individual parcels and collective shipments
shall, if necessary, be the subject of special agreements between the Powers concerned,
which may in no case delay the receipt by the internees of relief supplies. Parcels
of clothing and foodstuffs may not include books. Medical relief supplies shall,
as a rule, be sent in collective parcels.
Article 109
In the absence of special agreements between Parties to the conflict regarding
the conditions for the receipt and distribution of collective relief shipments,
the regulations concerning collective relief which are annexed to the present
Convention shall be applied.
The special agreements provided for above shall in no case restrict the right
of Internee Committees to take possession of collective relief shipments intended
for internees, to undertake their distribution and to dispose of them in the interests
of the recipients.
Nor shall such agreements restrict the right of representatives of the Protecting
Powers, the International Committee of the Red Cross, or any other organization
giving assistance to internees and responsible for the forwarding of collective
shipments, to supervise their distribution to the recipients.
Article 110
All relief shipments for internees shall be exempt from import, customs and
other dues.
All matter sent by mail, including relief parcels sent by parcel post and remittances
of money, addressed from other countries to internees or despatched by them through
the post office, either direct or through the Information Bureaux provided for
in Article 136 and the Central Information Agency provided for in Article 140,
shall be exempt from all postal dues both in the countries of origin and destination
and in intermediate countries. To this end. in particular, the exemption provided
by the Universal Postal Convention of 1947 and by the agreements of the Universal
Postal Union in favour of civilians of enemy nationality detained in camps or
civilian prisons, shall be extended to the other interned persons protected by
the present Convention. The countries not signatory to the above-mentioned agreements
shall be bound to grant freedom from charges in the same circumstances.
The cost of transporting relief shipments which are intended for internees
and which, by reason of their weight or any other cause, cannot be sent through
the post office, shall be borne by the Detaining Power in all the territories
under its control. Other Powers which are Parties to the present Convention shall
bear the cost of transport in their respective territories.
Costs connected with the transport of such shipments, which are not covered
by the above paragraphs, shall be charged to the senders.
The High Contracting Parties shall endeavour to reduce, so far as possible,
the charges for telegrams sent by internees, or addressed to them.
Article 111
Should military operations prevent the Powers concerned from fulfilling their
obligation to ensure the conveyance of the mail and relief shipments provided
for in Articles 106, 107, 108 and 113, the Protecting Powers concerned, the International
Committee of the Red Cross or any other organization duly approved by the Parties
to the conflict may undertake the conveyance of such shipments by suitable means
(rail, motor vehicles, vessels or aircraft, etc.). For this purpose, the High
Contracting Parties shall endeavour to supply them with such transport, and to
allow its circulation, especially by granting the necessary safe-conducts.
Such transport may also be used to convey:
(a) Correspondence, lists and reports exchanged between the Central Information
Agency referred to in Article 140 and the National Bureaux referred to in Article
136;
(b) Correspondence and reports relating to internees which the Protecting Powers,
the International Committee of the Red Cross or any other organization assisting
the internees exchange either with their own delegates or with the Parties to
the conflict.
These provisions in no way detract from the right of any Party to the conflict
to arrange other means of transport if it should so prefer, nor preclude the granting
of safe-conducts, under mutually agreed conditions, to such means of transport.
The costs occasioned by the use of such means of transport shall be borne,
in proportion to the importance of the shipments, by the Parties to the conflict
whose nationals are benefited thereby.
Article 112
The censoring of correspondence addressed to internees or despatched by them
shall be done as quickly as possible.
The examination of consignments intended for internees shall not be carried
out under conditions that will expose the goods contained in them to deterioration.
It shall be done in the presence of the addressee, or of a fellow-internee duly
delegated by him. The delivery to internees of individual or collective consignments
shall not be delayed under the pretext of difficulties of censorship.
Any prohibition of correspondence ordered by the Parties to the conflict, either
for military or political reasons, shall be only temporary and its duration shall
be as short as possible.
Article 113
The Detaining Powers shall provide all reasonable facilities for the transmission,
through the Protecting Power or the Central Agency provided for in Article 140,
or as otherwise required, of wills, powers of attorney letters of authority, or
any other documents intended for internees or despatched by them.
In all cases the Detaining Power shall facilitate the execution and authentication
in due legal form of such documents on behalf of internees, in particular by allowing
them to consult a lawyer.
Article 114
The Detaining Power shall afford internees all facilities to enable them to
manage their property, provided this is not incompatible with the conditions of
internment and the law which is applicable. For this purpose, the said Power may
give them permission to leave the place of internment in urgent cases and if circumstances
allow.
Article 115
In all cases where an internee is a party to proceedings in any court, the
Detaining Power shall, if he so requests, cause the court to be informed of his
detention and shall, within legal limits, ensure that all necessary steps are
taken to prevent him from being in any way prejudiced, by reason of his internment,
as regards the preparation and conduct of his case or as regards the execution
of any judgment of the court.
Article 116
Every internee shall be allowed to receive visitors, especially near relatives,
at regular intervals and as frequently as possible.
As far as is possible, internees shall be permitted to visit their homes in
urgent cases, particularly in cases of death or serious illness of relatives.
Chapter IX
Article 117
Subject to the provisions of the present Chapter, the laws in force in the
territory in which they are detained will continue to apply to internees who commit
offences during internment.
If general laws, regulations or orders declare acts committed by internees
to be punishable, whereas the same acts are not punishable when committed by persons
who are not internees, such acts shall entail disciplinary punishments only.
No internee may be punished more than once for the same act, or on the same
count.
Article 118
The courts or authorities shall in passing sentence take as far as possible
into account the fact that the defendant is not a national of the Detaining Power.
They shall be free to reduce the penalty prescribed for the offence with which
the internee is charged and shall not be obliged, to this end, to apply the minimum
sentence prescribed.
Imprisonment in premises without daylight, and, in general, all forms of cruelty
without exception are forbidden.
Internees who have served disciplinary or judicial sentences shall not be treated
differently from other internees.
The duration of preventive detention undergone by an internee shall be deducted
from any disciplinary or judicial penalty involving confinement to which he may
be sentenced.
Internee Committees shall be informed of all judicial proceedings instituted
against internees whom they represent, and of their result.
Article 119
The disciplinary punishments applicable to internees shall be the following:
1. A fine which shall not exceed 50 per cent of the wages which the internee
would otherwise receive under the provisions of Article 95 during a period of
not more than thirty days.
2. Discontinuance of privileges granted over and above the treatment provided
for by the present Convention.
3. Fatigue duties, not exceeding two hours daily, in connection with the maintenance
of the place of internment.
4. Confinement.
In no case shall disciplinary penalties be inhuman, brutal or dangerous for
the health of internees. Account shall be taken of the internee's age, sex and
state of health.
The duration of any single punishment shall in no case exceed a maximum of
thirty consecutive days, even if the internee is answerable for several breaches
of discipline when his case is dealt with, whether such breaches are connected
or not.
Article 120
Internees who are recaptured after having escaped or when attempting to escape
shall be liable only to disciplinary punishment in respect of this act, even if
it is a repeated offence.
Article 118, paragraph 3, notwithstanding, internees punished as a result
of escape or attempt to escape, may be subjected to special surveillance, on condition
that such surveillance does not affect the state of their health, that it is exercised
in a place of internment and that it does not entail the abolition of any of the
safeguards granted by the present Convention.
Internees who aid and abet an escape, or attempt to escape, shall be liable
on this count to disciplinary punishment only.
Article 121
Escape, or attempt to escape, even if it is a repeated offence, shall not be
deemed an aggravating circumstance in cases where an internee is prosecuted for
offences committed during his escape.
The Parties to the conflict shall ensure that the competent authorities exercise
leniency in deciding whether punishment inflicted for an offence shall be of a
disciplinary or judicial nature, especially in respect of acts committed in connection
with an escape, whether successful or not.
Article 122
Acts which constitute offences against discipline shall be investigated immediately.
This rule shall be applied, in particular, in cases of escape or attempt to escape.
Recaptured internees shall be handed over to the competent authorities as soon
as possible.
In case of offences against discipline, confinement awaiting trial shall be
reduced to an absolute minimum for all internees, and shall not exceed fourteen
days. Its duration shall in any case be deducted from any sentence of confinement.
The provisions of Articles 124 and 125 shall apply to internees who are in
confinement awaiting trial for offences against discipline.
Article 123
Without prejudice to the competence of courts and higher authorities, disciplinary
punishment may be ordered only by the commandant of the place of internment, or
by a responsible officer or official who replaces him, or to whom he has delegated
his disciplinary powers.
Before any disciplinary punishment is awarded, the accused internee shall be
given precise information regarding the offences of which he is accuse
