The four Geneva Conventions of 1949, the two Additional Protocols of 1977 and the Additional Protocol of 2005 form the core of international humanitarian law. They are designed to protect, in particular, persons who are either not, or no longer, participating in hostilities.
The contribution of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols
Persons in the hands of the enemy are entitled at all times to respect for their life and for their physical and mental integrity.
- Under the first and second Geneva Conventions of 1949, the belligerents must protect the sick, wounded and shipwrecked as well as medical personnel, ambulances and hospitals. All persons protected under these conventions must be taken in and cared for by the party to the conflict into whose hands they fall.
- The third Geneva Convention contains detailed rules on the treatment of prisoners of war.
- The fourth Geneva Convention protects civilians in the hands of the enemy or in occupied territory against arbitrary acts or acts of violence.
- The first Additional Protocol of 1977 supplements the rules applying to international armed conflicts contained in the four Geneva Conventions. It imposes restrictions on the conduct of hostilities, for example, it prohibits attacks against civilians and civilian objects and restricts the means and methods of warfare.
- The second Additional Protocol of 1977 supplements Article 3 which is common to the four Geneva conventions and is the sole provision applicable to non-international armed conflicts.
- The third Additional Protocol provides for an additional emblem in the form of a red crystal. Since 1 January 2007, this can be used in the same way as the red cross and the red crescent, the emblems recognised by the Geneva Conventions for identifying persons and objects entitled to special protection.
Today, the four Geneva Conventions have been universally ratified. Their rules and those of the Additional Protocols of 1977 are to a great extent regarded as international customary law, binding on all states and all parties to conflicts.
It was Henry Dunant of Geneva (1828–1910) who, having witnessed the carnage of the Battle of Solferino in 1859, initiated the first measures for the protection of persons in conflict situations. His humanitarian initiative ultimately led to the foundation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In 1864, 1899, 1906, 1907 and 1929, international conferences in Geneva and The Hague approved several conventions designed to protect the victims of war and regulate the means and methods of warfare. The Second World War demonstrated the need to further strengthen these provisions. An international conference in Geneva chaired by Federal Councillor Max Petitpierre drafted the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. They were supplemented by two Additional Protocols in 1977 and a third in 2005.