Persons who accompany the armed forces without actually being members thereof, such as civilian members of military aircraft crews, war correspondents, supply contractors, members of labour units or of services responsible for the welfare of the armed forces, provided that they have received authorization from the armed forces which they accompany, who shall provide them for that purpose with an identity card similar to the annexed model. Section III: Death of Prisoners of War The 1949 version of the Geneva Convention ("Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Part IV: Termination of Captivity With the exception of those engaged in the protection of their quarters against the aforesaid hazards, they may enter such shelters as soon as possible after the giving of the alarm. The first was drafted in 1864 and dealt with the care of wounded prisoners of war (POWs), a result of international negotiations initiated by Henri Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross. Article 77 [Preparation, Execution, and Transmission of Legal Documents]. Parties to the conflict shall communicate to each other the names of any prisoners of war who are detained until the end of the proceedings or until punishment has been completed. Bodies may be cremated only for imperative reasons of hygiene, on account of the religion of the deceased or in accordance with his express wish to this effect. If limitations must be placed on the correspondence addressed to prisoners of war, they may be ordered only by the Power on which the prisoners depend, possibly at the request of the Detaining Power. Prisoners of war, with the exception of officers, must salute and show to all officers of the Detaining Power the external marks of respect provided for by the regulations applying in their own forces. 5. In the absence of special agreements between the Parties concerned, the costs connected with transport of such shipments, other than costs covered by the above exemption, shall be charged to the senders. A prisoner of war who attempts to escape and is recaptured before having made good his escape in the sense of Article 91 shall be liable only to a disciplinary punishment in respect of this act, even if it is a repeated offence. (f) public utility services having no military character or purpose. The Red Cross also pushed for nations to adopt standardized rules for the care and protection of the wounded. Some of the current POW questions are: Published: Monday, September 3, 2007 The detaining authorities shall, upon request, issue to every prisoner who has undergone treatment, an official certificate indicating the nature of his illness or injury, and the duration and kind of treatment received. Surname and first names of the prisoner of war, his rank, his army, regimental, personal or serial number, his date of birth, and his profession or trade, if any; (POWs) shall at all times be humanely treated and protected, particularly against acts of violence, from insults and from public curiosity. Thelaw of war consist of the limits set up by the International Law within which the force required to overpowerthe enemy is used and the principles thereunder governing the individual in the course of war and armed Prisoners of war shall not be unnecessarily exposed to danger while awaiting evacuation from a fighting zone. #1 The Geneva Convention categorizes prisoners as follows: Category I: Prisoners ranking below sergeants. The Swiss Federal Council shall also inform the Secretariat of the United Nations of all ratifications, accessions and denunciations received by it with respect to the present Convention. Article 24 covers the rate of pay of prisoners of war. E-1 to E-41]. The Detaining Power shall debit the prisoners' account by a corresponding amount; the sums thus debited shall be placed by it to the credit of the Power on which the prisoners depend. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. No sick or injured prisoner of war who is eligible for repatriation under the first paragraph of this Article, may be repatriated against his will during hostilities. . Category III: Warrant officers and commissioned officers below the rank of major or prisoners of equivalent rank. Wartime reshaped life and death in the Dachau concentration camp in fundamental ways. This Convention replaced the Prisoners of War Convention of 1929. Previous milestones of this project include the completion of the updated Commentaries on Geneva Conventions I and II (GC I and GC II) in 2016 and 2017 respectively.2 In 2020, the project reached another major milestone with the completion of the updated Commentary on Geneva Convention III relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (GC III).3 Their custody is not a form of punishment, but only aims to prevent further participation in the conflict. Women prisoners of war undergoing disciplinary punishment shall be confined in separate quarters from male prisoners of war and shall be under the immediate supervision of women. Collective punishment for individual acts, corporal punishment, imprisonment in premises without daylight and, in general, any form of torture or cruelty, are forbidden. The same shall apply to prisoners of war already convicted for an indictable offence. Category II: Sergeants and other non-commissioned officers, or prisoners of equivalent rank: twelve Swiss francs. When a camp is closed down, the credit balance of the special fund shall be handed to an international welfare organization, to be employed for the benefit of prisoners of war of the same nationality as those who have contributed to the fund. Chapter III: Hygiene and Medical Attention At no time should prisoners of war be without identity documents. Category II: Sergeants and other non-commissioned officers, or prisoners of equivalent rank. We need money to operate the site, and almost all of it comes from our online advertising. Prisoners' representatives may send periodic reports on the situation in the camps and the needs of the prisoners of war to the representatives of the Protecting Powers. The High Contracting Parties shall endeavour to reduce, so far as possible, the rates charged for telegrams sent by prisoners of war, or addressed to them. He worked to get the local population mobilized to assist the wounded, regardless of their nationality. Article 5 [Beginning and End of Application]. If a prisoner has more than one set of clothes, the prisoners' representative shall be permitted to withdraw excess clothing from those with the largest number of sets, or particular articles in excess of one, if this is necessary in order to supply prisoners who are less well provided. When a prisoner of war 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. The weight of such baggage may be limited, if the conditions of repatriation so require, to what each prisoner can reasonably carry. Part V. Information Bureaux and Relief Societies for Prisoners of War. At the request of the prisoner of war and, in all cases, after death, the will shall be transmitted without delay to the Protecting Power; a certified copy shall be sent to the Central Agency. Books may not be included in parcels of clothing and foodstuffs. There have been several Geneva Conventions attempting to limit the horrors of war. Prisoners' representatives shall be allowed to distribute collective relief shipments for which they are responsible, to all prisoners of war administered by their camp, including those who are in hospitals, or in prisons or other penal establishments. The decision shall be announced to the accused prisoner of war and to the prisoners' representative. They shall be allowed in addition a rest of twenty-four consecutive hours every week, preferably on Sunday or the day of rest in their country of origin. Section IV. It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. This is a situation in which land has not yet been seized, but . Section II. Under the Geneva Conventions position of individual prisoners determines what rights they are entitled to. Prisoners of war are entitled in all circumstances to respect for their persons and their honour. Articles 82 and 83 contained two important clauses. Prisoners' representatives shall be allowed to fill up, and cause to be filled up by the prisoners' representatives of labour detachments or by the senior medical officers of infirmaries and hospitals, forms or questionnaires intended for the donors, relating to collective relief supplies (distribution, requirements, quantities, etc.). (4) Prisoners of war who have undergone a nephrectomy in captivity for a non-tubercular renal affection; cases of osteomyelitis, on the way to recovery or latent; diabetes mellitus not requiring insulin treatment; etc. Prisoners of war who sustain accidents in connection with work, or who contract a disease in the course, or in consequence of their work, shall receive all the care their condition may require. Usage. What are the Geneva Convention categories? The Detaining Power shall supply prisoners of war during transfer with sufficient food and drinking water to keep them in good health, likewise with the necessary clothing, shelter and medical attention. It is the predecessor of the Third Geneva Convention signed in 1949. Penalties to which they may be subjected shall be in accordance with the provisions of Article 87, third paragraph. Each prisoner shall in all cases be authorized to carry at least twenty-five kilograms. Once approved, the newest set of the rules of war went into effect on June 19, 1931. Conditions of labour shall in no case be rendered more arduous by disciplinary measures. The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of war. Every prisoner of war shall have at his disposal the credit balance of his account as provided for in the following Article, within the limits fixed by the Detaining Power, which shall make such payments as are requested. Name, rank, and serial number: the classic response under interrogation of anyone captured during warin a movie. The costs of treatment, including those of any apparatus necessary for the maintenance of prisoners of war in good health, particularly dentures and other artificial appliances, and spectacles, shall be borne by the Detaining Power. (2) Prisoners of war suffering from any form of tuberculosis, of whatever organ, and whose treatment in a neutral country would be likely to lead to recovery or at least to considerable improvement, with the exception of primary tuberculosis cured before captivity. 2. The decisions made by the Mixed Medical Commissions in each specific case shall be communicated, during the month following their visit, to the Detaining Power, the Protecting Power and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Mixed Medical Commissions shall begin their work as soon as possible after the neutral members have been approved, and in any case within a period of three months from the date of such approval. Article 81 states that individuals who follow the armed forces without directly belonging thereto, who fall into the enemy's hands and whom the latter think expedient to detain, shall be entitled to be treated as prisoners of war. ), for whom the prospects of cure in a neutral country are especially favourable. Category II: Sergeants and other non-commissioned officers, or prisoners of equivalent rank: twelve Swiss francs. The working pay of the prisoners' representative, of his advisers, if any, and of his assistants, shall be paid out of the fund maintained by canteen profits. Checkout the source for more accurate definition. Wills and death certificate provisions should be the same as those for the detaining power's own soldiers. Subject to financial or monetary restrictions which the Detaining Power regards as essential, prisoners of war may also have payments made abroad. Usage. In the relations between the Powers which are bound by the Hague Convention respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, whether that of July 29, 1899, or that of October 18, 1907, and which are parties to the present Convention, this last Convention shall be complementary to Chapter II of the Regulations annexed to the above-mentioned Conventions of the Hague. Prisoners of war may be interned only in premises located on land and affording every guarantee of hygiene and healthfulness. Hospital: Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy: 1. 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. 808 certified writers online. 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