| The undersigned Plenipotentiaries of the Governments represented at the
Diplomatic Conference held at Geneva from 21st April to 12th August, 1949, for
the purpose of establishing a Convention for the Protection of Civilian Persons in
Time of War, have agreed as follows:
PART I.–GENERAL PROVISIONS
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 peace time, 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 recognised 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 iany 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 recognised as
indispensable by civilised 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 12th August, 1949, or by
the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick
and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of 12th August, 1949, or by
the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12th
August, 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 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 : 1 to 12, 27, 29 to
34, 47, 49, 51, 52, 53, 59, 61 to 77, 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 co-operation 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 organisation 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 organisation
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
organisation provided for in the first paragraph above, the Detaining Power shall
request a neutral State, or such an organisation, 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 organisation, 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 organisation 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 organisations 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 in 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
persons, 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 organised 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 direct or through a neutral State or some
humanitarian organisation, propose to the adverse Party to establish, in the regions
where fighting is taking place, neutralised 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 neutralised 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 neutralisation 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 17
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 organised 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 12th August, 1949, but only if
so authorised 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 and not yet 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 recognisable 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 12th August, 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 12th August, 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 12th August, 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 front 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 faculties
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 parsons benefited thereby 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 co-operation 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
organisations 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 the 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 organisation that might assist them.
These several organisations 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 organisations 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 toy 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 II.–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
determined 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
connexion 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 authorised 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 authorised 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 from 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 dependants.
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 residence 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 III.–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 so
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
Occupying Power shall, with the co-operation 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 organisations 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 mobilisation of workers in an
organisation 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 co-operative organisations, 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 co-operation 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 organisations 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
toy 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 co-operation 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 ithe 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) recognised 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
organisations 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 organisation 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 proportionate 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 at any time the right 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 of 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
organised 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.–General Provisions
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.–Places of Internment
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 wall 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. The 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.–Food and Clothing
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.–Hygiene and Medical Attention
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 belonging 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 authorised 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 organisations 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 organisations who may
visit the places of internment.
Chapter VI.–Personal Property and Financial Resources
Article 97
Internees shall be permitted to retain articles of personal use. Moneys, 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, moneys 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 organisations 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 discriminations 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.–Administration and Discipline
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 victimisation. 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 recognised 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 organisation 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 organise a system of mutual
assistance amongst themselves, this organisation 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 organisations 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.–Relations with the Exterior
Article 105
Immediately upon interning protected persons, the Detaining Powers 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
Powers 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
recognised to be urgent.
As a rule, internees' mail shall be written in their own language. The Parties to the
conflict may authorise 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 organisation 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 organisation
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 effect, 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 organisation duly approved
by the Parties to the conflict may undertake to ensure 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 iwith
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
organisation 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 Powers shall facilitate the execution and authentication
in due legal form of such documents on behalf of internees, in particular toy
allowing them to consult a lawyer.
Article 114
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.–Penal and Disciplinary Sanctions
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 connexion 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 connexion
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 cases 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 accused, and given an
opportunity of explaining his conduct and of defending himself. He shall be
permitted, in particular, to call witnesses and to have recourse, if necessary, to the
services of a qualified interpreter. The decision shall be announced in the presence
of the accused and of a member of the Internee Committee.
The period elapsing between the time of award of a disciplinary punishment and
its execution shall not exceed one month.
When an internee is awarded a further disciplinary punishment, a period of at least
three days shall elapse between the execution of any two of the punishments, if the
duration of one of these is ten days or more.
A record of disciplinary punishments shall be maintained by the commandant of
the place of internment and shall be open to inspection by representatives of the
Protecting Power.
Article 124
Internees shall not in any case be transferred to penitentiary establishments
(prisons, penitentiaries, convict prisons, etc.) to undergo disciplinary punishment
therein.
The premises in which disciplinary punishments are undergone shall conform to
sanitary requirements; they shall in particular be provided with adequate bedding.
Internees undergoing punishment shall be enabled to keep themselves in a state of
cleanliness.
Women internees undergoing disciplinary punishment shall be confined in
separate quarters from male internees and shall be under the immediate
supervision of women.
Article 125
Internees awarded disciplinary punishment shall be allowed to exercise and to stay
in the open air at least two hours daily.
They shall be allowed, if they so request, to be present at the daily medical
inspections. They shall receive the attention which their state of health requires
and, if necessary, shall be removed to the infirmary of the place of internment or to
a hospital.
They shall have permission to read and write, likewise to send and receive letters.
Parcels and remittances of money, however, may be withheld from them until the
completion of their punishment; such consignments shall meanwhile be entrusted
to the Internee Committee, who will hand over to the infirmary the perishable
goods contained in the parcels.
No internees given a disciplinary punishment may be deprived of the benefit of the
provisions of Articles 107 and 143 of the present Convention.
Article 126
The provisions of Articles 71 to 76 inclusive shall apply, by analogy, to
proceedings against internees who are in the national territory of the Detaining
Power.
Chapter X.–Transfers of Internees
Article 127
The transfer of internees shall always be effected humanely. As a general rule, it
shall be carried out by rail or other means of transport, and under conditions at
least equal to those obtaining for the forces of the Detaining Power in their
changes of station. If, as an exceptional measure, such removals have to be
effected on foot, they may not take place unless the internees are in a fit state of
health, and may not in any case expose them to excessive fatigue.
The Detaining Power shall supply internees during transfer with drinking water
and food sufficient in quantity, quality and variety to maintain them in good
health, and also with the necessary clothing, adequate shelter and the necessary
medical attention. The Detaining Power shall take all suitable precautions to
ensure their safety during transfer, and shall establish before their departure a
complete list of all internees transferred.
Sick, wounded or infirm internees and maternity cases shall not be transferred if
the journey would be seriously detrimental to them, unless their safety
imperatively so demands.
If the combat zone draws close to a place of internment, the internees in the said
place shall not be transferred, unless their removal can be carried out in adequate
conditions of safety, or unless they are exposed to greater risks by remaining on
the spot than by being transferred.
When making decisions regarding the transfer of internees, the Detaining Power
shall take their interests into account and, in particular, shall not do anything to
increase the difficulties of repatriating thorn or returning them to their own homes.
Article 128
In the event of transfer, internees shall be officially advised of their departure and
of their new postal address. Such notification shall be given in time for them to
pack their luggage and inform their next of kin.
They shall be allowed to take with them their personal effects, and the
correspondence and parcels which have arrived for them.
The weight of such baggage may be limited if the conditions of transfer so require,
but in no case to less than twenty-five kilograms per internee.
Mail and parcels addressed to their former place of internment shall be forwarded
to them without delay.
The commandant of the place of internment shall take, in agreement with the
Internee Committee, any measures needed to ensure the transport of the internees'
community property and of the luggage the internees are unable to take with them
in consequence of restrictions imposed by virtue of the second paragraph.
Chapter XI.–Deaths
Article 129
The wills of internees shall be received for safe-keeping by the responsible
authorities ; and in the event of the death of an internee his will shall be
transmitted without delay to a person whom he has previously designated.
Deaths of internees shall be certified in every case by a doctor, and a death
certificate shall be made out, showing the causes of death and the conditions under
which it occurred.
An official record of the death, duly registered, shall be drawn up in accordance
with the procedure relating thereto in force in the territory where the place of
internment is situated, and a duly certified copy of such record shall be transmitted
without delay to the Protecting Power as well as to the Central Agency referred to
in Article 140.
Article 130
The detaining authorities shall ensure that internees who die while interned are
honourably buried, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they
belonged, and that their graves are respected, properly maintained, and marked in
such a way that they can always be recognised.
Deceased internees shall be buried in individual graves unless unavoidable
circumstances require the use of collective graves. Bodies may be cremated only
for imperative reasons of hygiene, on account of the religion of the deceased or in
accordance with his expressed wish to this effect. In case of cremation, the fact
shall be stated and the reasons given in the death certificate of the deceased. The
ashes shall be retained for safe-keeping by the detaining authorities and shall be
transferred as soon as possible to the next of kin on their request.
As soon as circumstances permit, and not later than the close of hostilities, the
Detaining Power shall forward lists of graves of deceased internees to the Powers
on whom deceased internees depended through the Information Bureaux provided
for in Article 136. Such lists shall include all particulars necessary for the
identification of the deceased internees, as well as the exact location of their
graves.
Article 131
Every death or serious injury of an internee, caused or suspected to have been
caused by a sentry, another internee or any other person, as well as any death the
cause of which is unknown, shall be immediately followed by an official enquiry
by the Detaining Power.
A communication on this subject shall be sent immediately to the Protecting
Power. The evidence of any witnesses shall be taken, and a report including such
evidence shall be prepared and forwarded to the said Protecting Power.
If the enquiry indicates the guilt of one or more persons, the Detaining Power shall
take all necessary steps to ensure the prosecution of the person or persons
responsible.
Chapter XII.–Release, Repatriation and Accommodation in Neutral Countries
Article 132
Each interned person shall be released by the Detaining Power as soon as the
reasons which necessitated his internment no longer exist.
The Parties to the conflict shall, moreover, endeavour during the course of
hostilities, to conclude agreements for the release, the repatriation, the return to
places of residence or the accommodation in a neutral country of certain classes of
internees, in particular children, pregnant women and mothers with infants and
young children, wounded and sick, and internees who have been detained for a
long time.
Article 133
Internment shall cease as soon as possible after the close of hostilities.
Internees in the territory of a Party to the conflict against whom penal proceedings
are pending for offences not exclusively subject to disciplinary penalties, may be
detained until the close of such proceedings and, if circumstances require, until the
completion of the penalty. The same shall apply to internees who have been
previously sentenced to a punishment depriving them of liberty.
By agreement between the Detaining Power and the Powers concerned,
committees may be set up after the close of hostilities, or of the occupation of
territories, to search for dispersed internees.
Article 134
The High Contracting Parties shall endeavour, upon the close of hostilities or
occupation, to ensure the return of all internees to their last place of residence, or
to facilitate their repatriation.
Article 135
The Detaining Power shall bear the expense of returning released internees to the
places where they were residing when interned, or, if it took them into custody
while they were in transit or on the high seas, the cost of completing their journey
or of their return to their point of departure.
Where a Detaining Power refuses permission to reside in its territory to a released
internee who previously had his permanent domicile therein, such Detaining
Power shall pay the cost of the said internee's repatriation. If, however, the
internee elects to return to his country on his own responsibility or in obedience to
the Government of the Power to which he owes allegiance, the Detaining Power
need not pay the expenses of his journey beyond the point of his departure from its
territory. The Detaining Power need not pay the costs of repatriation of an internee
who was interned at his own request.
If internees are transferred in accordance with Article 45, the transferring and
receiving Powers shall agree on the portion of the above costs to be borne by each.
The foregoing shal 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.
Section V.–Information Bureaux and Central Agency
Article 136
Upon the outbreak of a conflict and in all cases of occupation, each of the Parties
to the conflict shall establish an official Information Bureau responsible for
receiving and transmitting information in respect of the protected persons who are
in its power.
Each of the Parties to the conflict shall, within the shortest possible period, give its
Bureau information of any measure taken by it concerning any protected persons
who are kept in custody for more than two weeks, who are subjected to assigned
residence or who are interned. It shall, furthermore, require its various departments
concerned with such matters to provide the aforesaid Bureau promptly with
information concerning all changes pertaining to these protected persons, as, for
example, transfers, releases, repatriations, escapes, admittances to hospitals, births
and deaths.
Article 137
Each national Bureau shall immediately forward information concerning protected
persons by the most rapid means to the Powers of whom the aforesaid persons are
nationals, or to Powers in whose territory they resided, through the intermediary of
the Protecting Powers and likewise through the Central Agency provided for in
Article 140. The Bureaux shall also reply to all enquiries which may be received
regarding protected persons.
Information Bureaux shall transmit information concerning a protected person
unless its transmission might be detrimental to the person concerned or to his or
her relatives. Even in such a case, the information may not be withheld from the
Central Agency which, upon being notified of the circumstances, will take the
necessary precautions indicated in Article 140.
All communications in writing made by any Bureau shall be authenticated by a
signature or a seal.
Article 138
The information received by the national Bureau and transmitted by it shall be of
such a character as to make it possible to identify the protected person exactly and
to advise his next of kin quickly. The information in respect of each person shall
include at least his surname, first names, place and date of birth, nationality, last
residence land distinguishing characteristics, the first name of the father and the
maiden name of the mother, the date, place and nature of the action taken with
regard to the individual, the address at which correspondence may be sent to him
and the name and address of the person to be informed.
Likewise, information regarding the state of health of internees who are seriously
ill or seriously wounded shall be supplied regularly and if possible every week.
Article 139
Each national Information Bureau shall, furthermore, be responsible for collecting
all personal valuables left by protected persons mentioned in Article 136, in
particular those who have been repatriated or released, or who have escaped or
died; it shall forward the said valuables to those concerned, either direct, or, if
necessary, through the Central Agency. Such articles shall be sent by the Bureau in
sealed packets which shall be accompanied by statements giving clear and full
identity particulars of the person to whom the articles belonged, and by a complete
list of the contents of the parcel. Detailed records shall be maintained of the receipt
and despatch of all such valuables.
Article 140
A Central Information Agency for protected persons, in particular Ifbr internees,
shall be created in a neutral country. The International Committee of the Red
Cross shall, if it deems necessary, propose to the Powers concerned the
organisation of such an Agency, which may be the same as that provided for in
Article 123 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of
War of 12th August, 1949.
The function of the Agency shall be to collect all information of the type set forth
in Article 136 which it may obtain through official or private channels and to
transmit it as rapidly as possible to the countries of origin or of residence of the
persons concerned, except in cases where such transmissions might be detrimental
to the persons whom the said information concerns, or to their relatives. It shall
receive from the Parties to the conflict all reasonable facilities for effecting such
transmissions.
The High Contracting Parties, and in particular those whose nationals benefit by
the services of the Central Agency, are requested to give the said Agency the
financial aid it may require.
The foregoing provisions shall in no way be interpreted as restricting the
humanitarian activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross and of the
relief societies described in Article 142.
Article 141
The national Information Bureaux and the Central Information Agency shall enjoy
free postage for all mail, likewise the exemptions provided for in Article 110, and
further, so far as possible, exemption from telegraphic charges or, at least, greatly
reduced rates.
PART IV.–EXECUTION OF THE CONVENTION
Section I.–General Provisions
Article 142
Subject to the measures which the Detaining Powers may consider essential to
ensure their security or to meet any other reasonable need, the representatives of
religious organisations, relief societies, or any other organisations assisting the
protected persons, shall receive from these Powers, for themselves or their duly
accredited agents, all facilities for visiting the protected persons, for distributing
relief supplies and material from any source, intended for educational, recreational
or religious purposes, or for assisting them in organising their leisure time within
the places of internment. Such societies or organisations may be constituted in the
territory of the Detaining Power, or in any other country, or they may have an
international character.
The Detaining Power may limit the number of societies and organisations whose
delegates are allowed to carry out their activities in its territory and under its
supervision, on condition, however, that such limitation shall not hinder the supply
of effective and adequate relief to all protected persons.
The special position of the International Committee of the Red Cross in this field
shall be recognised and respected at all times.
Article 143
Representatives or delegates of the Protecting Powers shall have permission to go
to all places where protected persons are, particularly to places of internment,
detention and work.
They shall have access to all premises occupied by protected persons and shall be
able to interview the latter without witnesses, personally or through an interpreter.
Such visits may not be prohibited except for reasons of imperative military
necessity, and then only as an exceptional and temporary measure. Their duration
and frequency shall not be restricted.
Such representatives and delegates shall have full liberty to select the places they
wish to visit. The Detaining or Occupying Power, the Protecting Power and when
occasion arises the Power of origin of the persons to be visited, may agree that
compatriots of the internees shall be permitted to participate in the visits.
The delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross shall also enjoy the
above prerogatives. The appointment of such delegates shall be submitted to the
approval of the Power governing the territories where they will carry out their
duties.
Article 144
The High Contracting Parties undertake, in time of peace as in time of war, to
disseminate the text of the present Convention as widely as possible in their
respective countries, and, in particular, to include the study thereof in their
programmes of military and, if possible, civil instruction, so that the principles
thereof may become known to the entire population.
Any civilian, military, police or other authorities, who in time of war assume
responsibilities in respect of protected persons, must possess the text of the
Convention and be specially instructed as to its provisions.
Article 145
The High Contracting Parties shall communicate to one another through the Swiss
Federal Council and, during hostilities, through the Protecting Powers, the official
translations of the present Convention, as well as the laws and regulations which
they may adopt to ensure the application thereof.
Article 146
The High Contracting Parties undertake to enact any legislation necessary to
provide effective penal sanctions for persons committing, or ordering to be
committed, any of the grave breaches of the present Convention defined in the
following Article.
Each High Contracting Party shall be under the obligation to search for persons
alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, such grave
breaches, and shall bring such persons, regardless of their nationality, before its
own courts. It may also, if it prefers, and in accordance with the provisions of its
own legislation, hand such persons over for trial to another High Contracting Party
concerned, provided such High Contracting Party has made out a prima facie case.
Each High Contracting Party shall take measures necessary for the suppression of
all acts contrary to the provisions of the present Convention other than the grave
breaches defined in the following Article.
In all circumstances, the accused persons shall benefit by safeguards of proper trial
and defence, which shall not be less favourable than those provided by Article 105
and those following of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of
Prisoners of War of 12th August, 1949. | 
