Geneva Convention: Meaning, Origin and Protocols

The Geneva Conventions are a collection of three protocols and four supplemental treaties establishing ethical warfare treatment requirements. The Geneva Convention was established in 1864, although it was significantly revised in 1949.

Origin of the Geneva Conventions

Since time immemorial, the norms of battle have differed from civilization to civilization; some, such as the Babylonians, were exemplary in their behaviour, whilst the Roman Empire and the other empires were not afraid to burn entire towns or their inhabitants to the ground. Until Henry Durant stepped on the scene, this was the standard.

Henry Durant was a Geneva businessman who sought an interview with Napolean II, Napoleon’s nephew, about acquiring property for a commercial endeavour. He did gain land in northern Italy, but he also saw the aftermath of the deadly Battle of Solferino, one of several fought during Italy’s unification.

This led him to give an account of what he had seen while also offering a solution to lessen some of the bloodsheds of war – training a volunteer organization that would support people impacted by conflict, civilians and soldiers alike.

As a result, an early version of the Red Cross was founded to investigate Durant’s notion. Representatives from 16 nations met in Geneva in October 1863 to discuss the parameters of humanitarian care throughout the war. As a result, 12 countries signed a convention renowned as the 1st Geneva Convention.

The 1906 and 1929 Geneva Conventions

The Swiss government advocated for a new agreement to examine and build on the original Geneva Convention. The modifications added provisions for injured or seized prisoners of war and medical professionals who treat, evacuate, and remove the dead and wounded.

In the aftermath of World War I in 1919, it was determined that the 1906 revisions were insufficient for humanitarian behaviour in times of war. Further updates were enacted in 1929 to assure civilized treatment of prisoners of war.

The 1949 Geneva Convention

Even though Germany was a signatory to the 1929 Convention, its fascist regime committed atrocities against both civilian and military soldiers throughout World War II. As a result, in 1949, the Geneva Conventions were expanded to protect non-combatant civilians.

The additional articles also incorporated safeguards to defend:

  • Personnel, infrastructure, and equipment in the medical field
  • Civilians who are injured or sick and accompany military troops
  • Chaplains in the military

Protocols of the Geneva convention

Protocols one and two were added to the 1949 Conventions in 1977.

During international armed conflicts,

Protocol I strengthened safeguards for civilians, military personnel, and media. It also prohibited using “weapons that inflict needless pain or suffering” or “widespread, long-term, and significant degradation to the natural environment.”

Protocol II was adopted by the International Committee of the Red Cross because most casualties of violent conflicts since the 1949 Convention have been victims of violent civil wars.

Furthermore, children should be carefully cared for and taught, and the following activities are prohibited:

  • Taking captives
  • Group punishment
  • Slavery
  • Treatment that is humiliating or demeaning

Present Situation

Almost 190 governments follow the Geneva Conventions because they believe that some combat behaviours are so terrible and devastating that they hurt the international community.

The standards assist in drawing a line—as feasible within the circumstances of wars and armed conflicts—between the humanitarian treatment of military soldiers, medical personnel, and civilians and unbridled cruelty towards them.