Common (Primary) Purpose

The Geneva Conventions and Protocols all share the common primary purpose of protecting the victims of armed conflict. The following is a statement from the website of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): ‘The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols are international treaties that contain the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war. They protect people who do not take part in the fighting (civilians, medics, aid workers) and those who can no longer fight (wounded, sick and shipwrecked troops, prisoners of war)’ (International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 2004).

Common Principles

The Geneva Conventions and Protocols are based on humanitarian principles to be applied during armed conflict. The key principle is to protect those who do not take part in the fighting and those who are no longer able to fight. The people protected must be treated humanely without any adverse distinction. The use of non-discriminatory means and methods of warfare is forbidden. These principles are applied across the regulations, for example the following is found in Article 12 of Convention I:

Members of the armed forces and other persons mentioned in the following Article, who are wounded or sick, shall be respected and protected in all circumstances. They shall be treated humanely and cared for by the Party to the conflict in whose power they may be, without any adverse distinction founded on sex, race, nationality, religion, political opinions, or any other similar criteria.

And similar provisions are located in Article 12 of Convention II, Articles 13 and 14 of Convention III, Article 27 of Convention IV, Article 10 of Protocol I and Articles 4, 5 and 7 of Protocol II.

Common Historical Development

Regulation of warfare has a long history. The first moves towards modern international regulation came in the nineteenth century. The ICRC was established in 1863 and the first Geneva Convention – for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field – was adopted by sixteen states in 1864 at a conference convened by the ICRC. Several international treaties that aimed to regulate armed conflict were agreed prior to the Second World War. These were further developed after the War. Laws regulating armed conflict are referred to as international humanitarian law (IHL) or the laws of war. They apply during armed conflict, rather than in times of peace. The four Geneva Conventions, adopted in 1949, form a core part of IHL, protecting the victims of armed conflict. Two Additional Protocols were adopted in 1977 in response to the need to update and strengthen the Conventions and a third Additional Protocol was adopted in 2005 to add an additional protected emblem – the red diamond – that avoids the religious connotations that some groups associate with the red cross and the red crescent.

Common Identity (External Awareness of Connections)

The Geneva Conventions and Protocols, while consisting of seven separate documents with different titles, have the common identity of ‘the Geneva Conventions’ or the ‘Geneva Conventions and Protocols’. This can be seen in the way they are referred to by the ICRC, in news stories and other publications and in policy debates. For example a search on ‘Geneva Conventions’ on the BBC News website on 23 March 2010 brought up over 400 stories; a search on ‘Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field’ brought up two results (BBC News Online Search Facility).

Self-referencing (Internal Awareness of Connections)

References are made between the Conventions and Protocols where necessary to clarify coverage of certain issues. Table 5.1 lists where some of these references are located.

Shared Definitions

Certain key terms are given the same basic definition in the Conventions. The most prominent example of this is the definition of the term ‘grave breach’. In all the Conventions this includes ‘wilful killing, torture, or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health’ (Article 50 of Convention I, Article 51 of Convention II, Article 130 of Convention III and Article 147 of Convention IV). And Protocol I states that ‘Acts described as grave breaches in the Conventions are grave breaches of this Protocol’ (Article 85).

Unifying Provisions

The Conventions and Protocols have some common provisions that connect them further. The most prominent example is ‘Common Article 3’ on non-international armed conflict, which is exactly the same in all four Conventions. Other examples include a statement on the use of emblem: ‘with the exception of the cases mentioned in the following paragraphs of the present Article, the emblem of the red cross on a white ground and the words “Red Cross” or “Geneva Cross” may not be employed, whether in time of peace of time of war’ (Article 44 of Convention I, with similar wording in Article 44 of Convention II, Article 18 of Protocol I and Article 12 of Protocol II); and a statement on humanitarian organisations: ‘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 organisation may … undertake for the protection of the wounded and sick, medical personnel and chaplains, and for their relief’ (Article 9 of Convention I, with similar wording in Article 9 of Conventions II and III and Article 10 of Convention IV).

Complementary Provisions

The Conventions and Protocols form complements to one another, each extending protection to different subject matter for the same aims: armed forces on land; armed forces at sea; prisoners of war; citizens of occupied territories; and victims of non-international armed conflict. This can be seen in the sections on repression of grave breaches, which, after stating the common definition, have specific provisions for the particular area covered. For example:

• Article 130 of Convention III adds ‘compelling a prisoner of war to serve in the forces of the hostile Power, or wilfully depriving a prisoner of war of the rights of fair and regular trial’; and

• Article 147 of Convention IV adds ‘unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person, compelling a protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power, or wilfully depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial … taking of hostages, and extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly’.

Common Structure

The articles in the Conventions and Protocols flow in a similar way from general points, through specific provisions, to administrative detail. Such a structure is common to many treaties but is present at a more detailed level in the Conventions and Protocols, where similar provisions can be found in similar positions in the documents. For example, the provision that people protected by the Conventions cannot renounce their rights under the Conventions is found in Article 7 of Conventions I, II and III and Article 8 of Convention IV. The provisions which outline which violations constitute ‘grave breaches’ are found towards the end of the Conventions and Protocol I, before the final provisions.

Common Administration and Review Procedures

The Conventions do not specify any particular review or amendment procedures. There are very similar provisions in the Conventions and Protocols for some administrative matters such as authentic texts, ratification, accession and denunciation procedures. The ICRC, as guardian and promoter of IHL, is responsible for its development.

Common Enforcement and Dispute Settlement Mechanisms

The Conventions and Protocols all use the same methods of enforcement and implementation, primarily through action by contracting states, such as education and the implementation of legislation to prevent and punish grave breaches and to protect the emblems of the red cross, red crescent and red diamond. For example: ‘The high contracting Parties undertake, in time of peace as in time of war, to disseminate the text of the Convention as widely as possible’ (Article 47 of Convention I, Article 48 of Convention II, Article 127 of Convention III and Article 144 of Convention IV, with similar wording in Article 83 of Protocol I).

Dispute settlement provisions can be found in Article 11 of Conventions I, II and III and Article 12 of Convention IV. The Articles begin: ‘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.’

There is also a provision for enquiry into alleged violations: ‘At the request of a Party to the conflict, an enquiry shall be instituted, in a manner to be decided between the interested Parties, concerning any alleged violation of the Convention.’ This provision can be found in Article 52 of Convention I, Article 53 of Convention II, Article 132 of Convention III and Article 149 of Convention IV. There is a similar provision in Articles 8 and 9 of Protocol I.

Same Strength of Force

The Conventions and Protocols are all legally binding treaties and compliance is mandatory for all contracting parties. Some provisions are also part of customary international law. There is some variation in the number of states parties. There are 194 states parties to the four Conventions, 169 to Protocol I, 165 to Protocol II and 52 to Protocol III (International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 2010).

Single International Organisation

From the outset of their development the Geneva Conventions and Protocols have been overseen by the ICRC. It is responsible for their development and promotion and for many aspects of their monitoring and implementation. It provides a large, easily accessible information source on its website, which is open to the public, and provides technical guidance to states on implementation through an Advisory Service: ‘As the promoter and guardian of international humanitarian law, the ICRC must encourage respect for the law. It does so by spreading knowledge of the humanitarian rules and by reminding parties to conflicts of their obligations’ (International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Advisory Service on International Humanitarian Law 2004).

Self-contained

While resting, as all international regulations do, on basic customs, principles and rules of international law – for example that states have the right to make treaties – the Geneva Conventions and Protocols cover the area of protection of people during armed conflict without relying on other regulations to complete this coverage. They also form part of a wider set of international rules (IHL), but can function independently of it.

Clear Issue Focus

The Conventions and Protocols all clearly and primarily focus on the issue of regulating armed conflict to protect those who are not fighting or are no longer able to fight.

Comprehensive Coverage of Issue

While requirements for coverage will vary over time, the Conventions and Protocols do give reasonably comprehensive coverage to the protection of the victims of armed conflict. There have been recent criticisms of the scope of the Conventions and Protocols, as they do not cover the issue of the legality of humanitarian interventions, and their applicability to conflicts that form part of the ‘War on Terror’ has been challenged. The ICRC feels that the issue of humanitarian intervention should not be dealt with under IHL, but instead under international law on the use of force. In regard to the War on Terror, the Conventions and Protocols do apply to those parts that constitute international or non-international armed conflicts. The ICRC does not support the concept of there being a category of individuals – ‘illegal combatants’ – the treatment of whom IHL does not apply to (International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 2005).