Hey Everybody! My name is Priya and you are watching Finology Legal!
let us understand the Geneva Convention
Henry Dunant, was a businessman from Switzerland
for the purpose of business expansion, In 1859, he visited Solferino, Italy
During his visit, Italy and France went into war with Austria
This war is famously known as 'Battle of Solferino'
Austria lost the war
but this war led to a total casualty of 40,000 soldiers
Looking at all this, Henry, who is still present there
rushes to provide aid and assistance to wounded and sick soldiers
while doing so he does not discriminate between the soldiers; whether he is from Italy or France or Austria
and also urges others to participate in the aid of sick and wounded
during this time, the phrase 'Tutti Fratelli' became very popular
which means 'We are all brothers'
Upon his return to Switzeland
Remembering his experiences from the war, he writes a book 'A memory of Solferino'
in which he shares his understanding of war - what a country goes through, losses incurred
and whether a counrty wins or loses, both are shattered by the lives lost!
But in this book, he did not just share his experiences 
he also suggested a SOLUTION!
he suggests these 2 things:
1. A Voluntary Relef Society - which acts as a 
 Neutral Third party to take care of the sick and injured, without discrimination
 2. Formation of an International Agreement  which
lays down the principles to be followed during war.
Henry distributed his book to almost all leading and influential
military and political leaders across Europe!
and the book was positively accepted.
in 1863, a World meeting was called for in an effort to actualise his solutions
which has 2 main objectives 
1. Creation of a Permanent Relief Agency to provide Humanitarian Aid.
2. An International Treaty - with different Govt. to allow a Neutral Third Party to provide aid in war zones
First objective led to the formation of International Committee of Red Cross
And for 2nd Objective, Geneva Convention was signed on 22nd August, 1864 
It was these 2 solutions and  contribution that Henry Dunant was awarded with 1st Nobel Peace Prize 
1st Geneva Convention - 1864
it talks about the treatment and Condition of Wounded & the Sick in the armed forces, during the war
2nd Geneva Convention - 1906
it talks about “Protecting the Wounded, the sick & the Shipwrecked Military Personnel at Sea”
But after the WW1 (1914-18)
It was realized that most countries were not respecting the Geneva & Hague Conventions
which led to 3rd Geneva Convention - 1929
it talks about  'Prisoners of War'
the Convention says that Prisoners of War should be kept and treated humanely
+ it also says that w.r.t Prisoners of War,  IRCS will act as a neutral 3rd party @ the time of war
3rd Geneva Convention was signed by many countries, including Germany
but during the WW2, the 3rd Convention could not stop Germany from exercising all sorts of power
Like military camps, Concentration camps, biological experiments, etc.
Thats`s why 4th Geneva Convention took place in 1949
it was an expansion of the previous Conventions
This convention has provisions regarding Prisoners of War and Non-combatants (Civilians)
Non-Combatants are those who are not direct participants of the war
like children, Pregnant women, Senior citizens, sick, wounded, etc.
4th Geneva Convention extends to provide protection to POW and Non-Combatants
lets have a look at some of the concerned provisions
Article 9 (Common provision)- It says that ICRC shall not be obstructed
Now looking at what all was done during the WW2
and to stop History repeating itself
Article 12-16 were inserted
these articles provide the protection to POW + Non-combatants
and provides that they cannot be murdered, tortured or exposed to biological experiments
In addition to above-mentioned provisions, 
following provisions have also been laid down under 1949 conventions for Prisoners of War
because once taken in custody, these people  cannot help in war
4th Geneva Convention provides the following 6 rights to POW
1.PoWs must not be tortured or mistreated.
2.POW are only required to give their name, rank, Birth date & serial number when captured.
3. They must receive suitable housing and adequate amounts of food.
4. No discrimination should be made.
5.They have right to correspond with family and receive care packages.
6.Red Cross has right to visit them & examine their living conditions.
The convention provides for broad provisions regarding protection of PoWs and Non-Combatants.
3 Protocols to convention were further added 
Protocol 1-  has substantially increased the provisions for protection of civilians 
Till now Geneva Convention applied only in cases on International Armed Conflict
But after WW2, all member nations thought of extending its application to other armed conflicts i.e., Civil War
Protocol 2 enhanced its applicability from International conflicts to Non-International Conflicts
3rd Protocol talks about the emblem for Red Cross Society
Geneva Convention along with its Protocols, forms the core of Int. Humanitarian Law
Its objective is to minimise the effects of war - in Int. as well as Non-Int. Armed Conflicts
Let`s have a look at the Recent Application of the Geneva Convention
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