en.wikisource.org/wiki/Third_Geneva_Convention#Article_4
Wikisource:Historical documents Geneva Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Adopted on 12 August 1949 by the Diplomatic Conference for the Establishm ent of International Conventions for the Protection of Victims of War, h eld in Geneva from 21 April to 12 August, 1949.
edit Article 2 In addition to the provisions which shall be implemented in peace time, t he present Convention shall apply to all cases of declared war or of any other armed conflict which may arise between two or more of the High Co ntracting Parties, even if the state of war is not recognized by one of them. The Convention shall also apply to all cases of partial or total occupati on of the territory of a High Contracting Party, even if the said occupa tion meets with no armed resistance. Although one of the Powers in conflict may not be a party to the present Convention, the Powers who are parties thereto shall remain bound by it in their mutual relations. They shall furthermore be bound by the Conven tion in relation to the said Power, if the latter accepts and applies th e provisions thereof.
edit Article 3 In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provis ions: 1 Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members o f armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria. 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: + violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of th e Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict. The Parties to the conflict should further endeavour to bring into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of the present Convention. The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal st atus of the Parties to the conflict.
edit Article 4 1 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 Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict, as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.
Where such diplomatic relations exist, the Parties to a conflict on whom these persons depend shall be allowed to perform towards them the functions of a Protecting Power as provided in the present Convention, without prejudice to the functions which these Parties normally exercise in conformity with diplomatic and consular usage and treaties.
No special agreement shall adversely affect the situ ation of prisoners of war, as defined by the present Convention, nor res trict the rights which it confers upon them. Prisoners of war shall continue to have the benefit of such agreements as long as the Convention is applicable to them, except where express prov isions to the contrary are contained in the aforesaid or in subsequent a greements, or where more favourable measures have been taken with regard to them by one or other of the Parties to the conflict.
edit Article 7 Prisoners of war may in no circumstances renounce in part or in entirety the rights secured to them by the present Convention, and by the special agreements referred to in the foregoing Article, if such there be.
edit Article 8 The present Convention shall be applied with the cooperation and under th e scrutiny of the Protecting Powers whose duty it is to safeguard the in terests of the Parties to the conflict. For this purpose, the Protecting Powers may appoint, apart from their diplomatic or consular staff, dele gates from amongst their own nationals or the nationals of other neutral Powers. The said delegates shall be subject to the approval of the Powe r with which they are to carry out their duties. The Parties to the conflict shall facilitate to the greatest extent possi ble the task of the representatives or delegates of the Protecting Power s The representatives or delegates of the Protecting Powers shall not in an y case exceed their mission under the present Convention. They shall, in particular, take account of the imperative necessities of security of t he State wherein they carry out their duties.
edit Article 9 The provisions of the present Convention constitute no obstacle to the hu manitarian activities which the International Committee of the Red Cross or any other impartial humanitarian organization may, subject to the co nsent of the Parties to the conflict concerned, undertake for the protec tion of prisoners of war and for their relief.
edit Article 10 The High Contracting Parties may at any time agree to entrust to an organ ization which offers all guarantees of impartiality and efficacy the dut ies incumbent on the Protecting Powers by virtue of the present Conventi on. When prisoners of war do not benefit or cease to benefit, no matter for w hat reason, by the activities of a Protecting Power or of an organizatio n provided for in the first paragraph above, the Detaining Power shall r equest a neutral State, or such an organization, to undertake the functi ons performed under the present Convention by a Protecting Power designa ted by the Parties to a conflict. If protection cannot be arranged accordingly, the Detaining Power shall r equest or shall accept, subject to the provisions of this Article, the o ffer of the services of a humanitarian organization, such as the Interna tional Committee of the Red Cross to assume the humanitarian functions p erformed by Protecting Powers under the present Convention. Any neutral Power or any organization invited by the Power concerned or o ffering itself for these purposes, shall be required to act with a sense of responsibility towards the Party to the conflict on which persons pr otected by the present Convention depend, and shall be required to furni sh sufficient assurances that it is in a position to undertake the appro priate functions and to discharge them impartially. No derogation from the preceding provisions shall be made by special agre ements between Powers one of which is restricted, even temporarily, in i ts freedom to negotiate with the other Power or its allies by reason of military events, more particularly where the whole, or a substantial par t, of the territory of the said Power is occupied. Whenever in the present Convention mention is made of a Protecting Power, such mention applies to substitute organizations in the sense of the pr esent Article.
edit Article 11 In cases where they deem it advisable in the interest of protected person s, particularly in cases of disagreement between the Parties to the conf lict as to the application or interpretation of the provisions of the pr esent Convention, the Protecting Powers shall lend their good offices wi th a view to settling the disagreement. For this purpose, each of the Protecting Powers may, either at the invita tion of one Party or on its own initiative, propose to the Parties to th e conflict a meeting of their representatives, and in particular of the authorities responsible for prisoners of war, possibly on neutral territ ory suitably chosen. The Parties to the conflict shall be bound to give effect to the proposals made to them for this purpose. The Protecting Po wers may, if necessary, propose for approval by the Parties to the confl ict a person belonging to a neutral Power, or delegated by the Internati onal Committee of the Red Cross, who shall be invited to take part in su ch a meeting.
edit Article 12 Prisoners of war are in the hands of the enemy Power, but not of the indi viduals or military units who have captured them. Irrespective of the in dividual ...
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