Fourth Geneva Convention


The Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1949, and came into force in October 1950. While the first three conventions dealt with combatants, the Fourth Geneva Convention was the first to deal with humanitarian protections for civilians in a war zone. There are currently 196 countries party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, including this and the other three treaties.
Among its numerous provisions, the Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly prohibits the transfer of the population of an occupying power into the territory it occupies.
Image:Parties to the Geneva Conventions.svg|500px|thumb|alt=A political map of the world|Parties to Geneva Conventions and Protocols
The Fourth Geneva Convention only concerns protected civilians in occupied territory rather than the effects of hostilities, such as the strategic bombing during World War II.
The 1977 Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions prohibits all intentional attacks on "the civilian population and civilian objects." It also prohibits and defines "indiscriminate attacks" as "incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated." This rule is referred to by scholars as the principle of proportionality. Until well after World War II ended in 1945, the norm of reciprocity provided a justification for conduct in armed conflict.
In 1993, the United Nations Security Council adopted a report from the Secretary-General and a Commission of Experts which concluded that the Geneva Conventions had passed into the body of customary international humanitarian law, thus making them binding on non-signatories to the Conventions whenever they engage in armed conflicts.

Part I. General provisions

This sets out the overall parameters for GCIV:

Article 2: Application of the Convention

Article 2 states that signatories are bound by the convention both in war, armed conflicts where war has not been declared, and in an occupation of another country's territory.
The scope of Article 2 is broad:
In the commentary to the article Jean Pictet writes:

Article 3: Conflicts not of an international character

Article 3 states that even where there is not a conflict of international character, the parties must as a minimum adhere to minimal protections described as: non-combatants, members of armed forces who have laid down their arms, and combatants who are hors de combat due to wounds, detention, or any other cause shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, with the following prohibitions:
  • violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
  • taking of hostages;
  • outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
  • the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

    Article 4: Definition of protected persons

Article 4 defines who is protected person:
It explicitly excludes "Nationals of a State which is not bound by the Convention" and the citizens of a neutral state in the territory of a belligerent power or nationals of a co-belligerent state if that state has normal diplomatic relations "within the State in whose hands they are." Dr. Ola Engdahl wrote "he purpose of excluding nationals from the category of protected persons was that they could rely on diplomatic protection of the state of nationality. Persons are either protected persons under the convention or can benefit from the diplomatic protection of their state of nationality."
A number of articles specify how protecting powers, ICRC and other humanitarian organizations may aid protected persons.
The definition of protected person in this article is arguably the most important article in this section because many of the articles in the rest of GCIV only apply to protected persons.

Article 5: Derogations

Article 5 provides for the suspension of persons' rights under the convention for the duration of time that this is "prejudicial to the security of such State", although "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."
The common interpretation of article 5 is that its scope is very limited. Derogation is limited to individuals "definitely suspected of" or "engaged in activities hostile to the security of the State." In paragraph two of the article, "spy or saboteur" is mentioned.

Part II. General Protection of Populations Against Certain Consequences of War

Article 13: Field of application of part II

The list of basis on which distinction might be drawn is not exhaustive.

Article 16: Wounded and Sick: General Protection

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 32: Prohibition of corporal punishment, torture, etc.

A protected person may not have anything done "of such a character as to cause physical suffering or extermination ... the physical suffering or extermination of protected persons in their hands. This prohibition applies to murder, torture, corporal punishments, mutilation and medical or scientific experiments not necessitated by the medical treatment. While popular debate remains on what constitutes a legal definition of torture, the ban on corporal punishment simplifies the matter; even the most mundane physical abuse is thereby forbidden by Article 32, as a precaution against alternate definitions of torture.
The prohibition on scientific experiments was added, in part, in response to experiments by German and Japanese doctors during World War II of whom Josef Mengele was the most infamous.

Article 33: Individual responsibility, collective penalties, pillage and reprisals

Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, collective punishment is a war crime. By collective punishment, the drafters of the Geneva Conventions had in mind the reprisal killings of World War I and World War II. In the First World War, the Germans executed Belgian villagers in mass retribution for resistance activity during the Rape of Belgium. In World War II, both German and Japanese forces carried out a form of collective punishment to suppress resistance. Entire villages or towns or districts were held responsible for any resistance activity that occurred at those places. The conventions, to counter this, reiterated the principle of individual responsibility. The International Committee of the Red Cross Commentary to the conventions states that parties to a conflict often would resort to "intimidatory measures to terrorize the population" in hopes of preventing hostile acts, but such practices "strike at guilty and innocent alike. They are opposed to all principles based on humanity and justice".
Additional Protocol II of 1977 is about the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts explicitly forbidding collective punishment. But as fewer states have ratified this protocol than GCIV, GCIV Article 33 is the one more commonly quoted.

Section III. Occupied territories

Articles 47–78 impose substantial obligations on occupying powers. As well as numerous provisions for the general welfare of the inhabitants of an occupied territory, an occupier may not forcibly deport protected persons, or deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into occupied territory.

Article 49: Deportations, transfers, evacuations

The reference in the last paragraph to "deportation", is commonly understood as the expulsion of foreign nationals, whereas the expulsion of nationals would be called extradition, banishment or exile. If ethnic groups are affected by deportation, it may also be referred to as population transfer. Transfer in this case literally means to move or pass from one place to another. The ICRC has expressed the opinion, "that international humanitarian law prohibits the establishment of settlements, as these are a form of population transfer into occupied territory".

Article 50: Children

Article 51: Recruitment of Protected persons

The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces. No pressure or propaganda which aims at securing voluntary enlistment is permitted.
The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons to work unless they are over eighteen years of age, and then only on work which is necessary either for the needs of the army of occupation, or for the public utility services, or for the feeding, sheltering, clothing, transportation or health of the population of the occupied country. Protected persons may not be compelled to undertake any work which would involve them in the obligation of taking part in military operations. The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons to employ forcible means to ensure the security of the installations where they are performing compulsory labour.
The work shall be carried out only in the occupied territory where the persons whose services have been requisitioned are. Every such person shall, so far as possible, be kept in his usual place of employment. Workers shall be paid a fair wage and the work shall be proportionate to their physical and intellectual capacities. The legislation in force in the occupied country concerning working conditions, and safeguards as regards, in particular, such matters as wages, hours of work, equipment, preliminary training and compensation for occupational accidents and diseases, shall be applicable to the protected persons assigned to the work referred to in this Article.
In no case shall requisition of labour lead to a mobilization of workers in an organization of a military or semi-military character.