What does the Geneva Convention say about civilians?
What does the Geneva Convention say about civilians?
Civilians in areas of armed conflict and occupied territories are protected by the 159 articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Civilians are to be protected from murder, torture or brutality, and from discrimination on the basis of race, nationality, religion or political opinion.
Who is civilian under Geneva Convention?
The phrase “civilian population” within the meaning of this Convention shall include all those not enlisted in any branch of the combatant services nor for the time being employed or occupied in any belligerent establishment as defined in Article 2.
What is Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention?
Article 3 offers an international minimum protection to persons taking no active part in hostilities, including members of armed forces in certain situations specifically stated in the article. Humane and non-discriminatory treatment are two important protections offered under this provision.
Do the Geneva Conventions apply to civilians?
The Geneva Conventions are rules that apply only in times of armed conflict and seek to protect people who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities; these include the sick and wounded of armed forces on the field, wounded, sick, and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea, prisoners of war, and civilians.
Which Geneva Convention protects civilians in war?
the Fourth Geneva Convention
The Geneva 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 of 1950.
What is a civilian person?
noun. a person who is not on active duty with a military, naval, police, or fire fighting organization. Informal. anyone regarded by members of a profession, interest group, society, etc., as not belonging; nonprofessional; outsider: We need a producer to run the movie studio, not some civilian from the business world.
Who are civilians under international humanitarian law?
Civilians are persons who are not members of the armed forces. The civilian population comprises all persons who are civilians. Volume II, Chapter 1, Section E. State practice establishes this rule as a norm of customary international law applicable in international armed conflicts.
What is Article 7 Geneva Convention?
It states that the rights of protected persons are inalienable. Common Article 7 embodies the presumption that in most cases the statuses, rights and mechanisms established by the Conventions, properly applied, afford the best protection for protected persons in situations of armed conflict.
What is Article 4 of the Geneva Convention?
Article 4(1) of the Fourth Geneva Convention defines as “protected persons” those persons “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”.
Which Geneva Convention protects civilians in War?
Who is not protected by the Geneva Convention?
The Geneva Conventions do not recognize any status of lawfulness for combatants in conflicts not involving two or more nation states, such as during civil wars between government’s forces, and insurgents.
What did the Geneva Convention do for civilians?
The 1949 Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (GC IV) provides protections for civilians during IACs but it does not define the term “civilian.”
What does Article 2 of the Geneva Convention say?
Common Article 2 relating to international armed conflicts. This article states that the Geneva Conventions apply to all cases of international conflict, where at least one of the warring nations have ratified the Conventions. Primarily: The Conventions apply to all cases of declared war between signatory nations.
How many treaties are there in the Geneva Convention?
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war.
When was the Convention for the protection of civilians adopted?
The events of World War II showed the disastrous consequences of the absence of a convention for the protection of civilians in wartime. The Convention adopted in 1949 takes account of the experiences of World War II.