In 1949, 196 countries ratified a series of agreements that have become known as the Geneva Convention. Before the “convention,” however, several documents and a rather lengthy history preceded the event 75 years earlier.
As early as 1859, Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman, was shocked at the inhumane treatment shown to the wounded and captive soldiers after the Battle of Solferino in northern Italy. Dunant proposed agencies to help war captives and wounded. His proposals were influential in the ultimate establishment of the Red Cross.
Under the auspices of the Swiss government over the decades, several attempts — some successful and others not — were made to improve the conditions of the wounded, sick and captives of war.
The shock and horror of almost 100 million casualties in wars from 1917-1948 led to a series of conferences being held after World War II that, confirming the previous Geneva and Hague conventions, produced four Geneva Conventions in 1949.
Although the Geneva Convention and the United Nations Charter arose out of the same tragedy of two world wars, their applications are very different.
The U.N. Charter aims “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind” and calls its members to “settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.” The U.N. Charter is idealistic, positive and inspirational.
The Geneva Convention, on the other hand, assumes the aspirations of the U.N. Charter have not succeeded and there is a state of violent conflict, if not war, between the parties involved. If the U.N. Charter is to prevent the horror of war, the Geneva Convention attempts to limit the horror of war.
The Geneva Convention consists of four conventions, or agreements, which were concerned with the following:
- The First Geneva Convention: “The amelioration of the condition of the wounded and sick in armed forces in the field.”
- The Second Convention: “The amelioration of the condition of wounded, sick and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea.”
- The Third Geneva Convention: “The treatment of prisoners of war.”
- The Fourth Geneva Convention: “The protection of civilian persons in the time of war.”
Recognizing that international law differentiates between International Armed Conflict (I.A.C.) and Non-International Armed Conflict (N.I.A.C.), such as revolutions and civil wars, protocols were added in 1977 and 2005 pertaining to victims of these types of conflict and specific emblems, respectively.
It is immediately obvious the Geneva Convention is far more concrete and urgent than much of the U.N. Charter. While the latter deals with eventualities, the former deal with realities. It is important to note how the protections (and those protected) of the Geneva Convention have been greatly expanded. Initially limited to military combatants on land, it gradually increased its breadth to cover combatants at sea, prisoners of war and, finally, even partisans in Non-International Armed Conflict.
The most recent convention, dealing with the protection of civilians, is perhaps the most far-reaching and novel. Conflicts such as Gaza do not fit the traditional legal understanding of war as a legally declared state of hostility between two nation states. New questions also arise regarding regular and irregular forces, and the many legal questions surrounding extended occupation.
Although the civilian population is the group most likely to suffer in modern warfare, especially with weapons of mass destruction, civilians were the last to be addressed specifically in a Geneva convention. One has the feeling there remain many “grey areas” regarding the rights, obligations, protections, etc., provided to civilian populations under occupation, such as in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Since alleged violations of the Geneva Convention may constitute a crime and/or a crime against humanity, such alleged actions against the Convention are often brought before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court (I.C.C.).
The 75th Anniversary of the Geneva Convention is an important milestone. On the positive side, it is a sign of the growing power of international law in governing how nations behave and interact with each other. On the other hand, the need for the Geneva Convention is a reminder of how far we have in realizing the world of peace and justice envisioned in the U.N. Charter.