The Early Geneva Conventions
Developing Regulations to Control Conduct of Wars
The first Geneva Convention, which was signed in 1864, was ratified within three years by all the European great powers, as well as by many lesser states. It concerned itself mostly with helping wounded soldiers and prisoners of war. It was changed and added to by the second Geneva Convention in 1907.
Hague Conference Aimed at Arms Reductions
In 1899 and 1907, the Hague Conventions were negotiated. The first Conference was convened at the invitation of Count Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov. He was the minister of foreign affairs of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and he wanted limits to be placed on the growth of armed forces. The conference failed to agree on arms reductions, but it did adopt conventions defining the conditions of a state of war and other customs relating to war on land and sea.
This gathering also banned the use of expanding bullets (so-called dum-dum bullets that caused horrible wounds) and asphyxiating gases. These two items were dropped at a subsequent conference in 1907. Rather quaintly, from the vantage point of a world with intercontinental missiles and supersonic military aircraft, the Hague Conference of 1899 banned the dropping of projectiles and explosives from balloons.
Protection for Prisoners of War
The First World War revealed many deficiencies in the early Conventions so new conferences were called to fix the problems.
In 1929, the third Geneva Convention went into more depth about the protection of prisoners of war (POWs). This Convention stated that nations at war must treat prisoners humanely, supply information about them, and permit visits to prison camps by representatives of neutral states.
After capture, POWs were required to give their name and rank and could not be forced to yield up any other information. They were also allowed to keep any personal possessions, other than weapons and horses, they had with them when captured.
The Convention also governed how prisoner of war camps should be set up and operated. In general, these camps were to offer similar living conditions as those provided to the soldiers by their own armies.
Privileges for Humane Treatment Restricted to Lawful Combatants
However, the protection offered to prisoners of war extends only to people defined as “lawful combatants.” These are members of the armed forces of one of the parties engaged in the conflict. They must be in uniform and carry their weapons openly.
However, if any enemy invaded and the local people did not have time to organize an army with uniforms they could still be defined as lawful combatants so long as they carried their weapons openly and respected all the laws and customs of warfare.
Exceptions to these rules were for medical and religious personnel. Even though these people usually wore uniforms they were considered non-combatants by the Convention. Medical personnel were also allowed to carry small arms that they could use in self-defence if illegally attacked.
Most of these early conventions were created in a spirit of idealism that did not survive the outbreak of World War II in September 1939. That conflict led to a renewed effort to write new and expanded rules to govern the conduct of war.
Australians Help a Wounded German in 1917.
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