(Protocol II) relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflict in United States

(Protocol II) relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflict

CONTENTS

PREAMBLE

PART I: SCOPE OF THIS PROTOCOL

Article 1 – Material field of application
Article 2 – Personal field of application
Article 3 – Non-intervention

PART II: HUMANE TREATMENT

Article 4 – Fundamental guarantees
Article 5 – Persons whose liberty has been restricted
Article 6 – Penal prosecutions

PART III: WOUNDED, SICK AND SHIPWRECKED

Article 7 – Protection and care
Article 8 – Search
Article 9 – Protection of medical and religious personnel
Article 10 – General protection of medical duties
Article 11 – Protection of medical units and transports
Article 12 – The distinctive emblem

PART IV: CIVILIAN POPULATION

Article 13 – Protection of the civilian population
Article 14 – Protection of objects indispensable to the survival of the
civilian population
Article 15 – Protection of works and installations containing dangerous
forces
Article 16 – Protection of cultural objects and of places of worship
Article 17 – prohibition of forced movement of civilians
Article 18 – Relief societies and relief actions

PART V: FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 19 – Dissemination
Article 20 – Signature
Article 21 – Ratification
Article 22 – Accession
Article 23 – Entry into force
Article 24 – Amendment
Article 25 – Denunciation
Article 26 – Notification
Article 27 – Registration
Article 28 – Authentic texts

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PREAMBLE

The High Contracting Parties,
Recalling that the humanitarian principles enshrined in Article 3 common to
the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, constitute the foundation of
respect for the human person in cases of armed conflict not of an
international character,

Recalling furthermore that international instruments relating to human
rights offer a basic protection to the human person,

Emphasizing the need to ensure a better protection for the victims of those
armed conflicts,

Recalling that, in cases not covered by the law in force, the human person
remains under the protection of the principles of humanity and the dictates
or the public conscience,

Have agreed on the following:

PART I

SCOPE OF THIS PROTOCOL

Article 1 – Material field of application

1. This Protocol, which develops and supplements Article 3 common to the
Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 without modifying its existing
conditions or application, shall apply to all armed conflicts which are not
covered by Article 1 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions
of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of
International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) and which take place in the
territory of a High Contracting Party between its armed forces and
dissident armed forces or other organized armed groups which, under
responsible command, exercise such control over a part of its territory as
to enable them to carry out sustained and concerted military operations and
to implement this Protocol.

2. This Protocol shall not apply to situations of internal disturbances and
tensions, such as riots, isolated and sporadic acts of violence and other
acts of a similar nature, as not being armed conflicts.

Article 2 – Personal field of application

1. This Protocol shall be applied without any adverse distinction founded
on race, colour, sex, language, religion or belief, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, wealth, birth or other status, or on
any other similar criteria (hereinafter referred to as “adverse
distinction”) to all persons affected by an armed conflict as defined in
Article 1.

2. At the end of the armed conflict, all the persons who have been deprived
of their liberty or whose liberty has been restricted for reasons related
to such conflict, as well as those deprived of their liberty or whose
liberty is restricted after the conflict for the same reasons, shall enjoy
the protection of Articles 5 and 6 until the end of such deprivation or
restriction of liberty.

Article 3 – Non-intervention

1. Nothing in this Protocol shall be invoked for the purpose of affecting
the sovereignty of a State or the responsibility of the government, by all
legitimate means, to maintain or re-establish law and order in the State or
to defend the national unity and territorial integrity of the State.

2. Nothing in this Protocol shall be invoked as a justification for
intervening, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the armed
conflict or in the internal or external affairs of the High Contracting
Party in the territory of which that conflict occurs.

PART II

HUMANE TREATMENT

Article 4 – Fundamental guarantees

1. All persons who do not take a direct part or who have ceased to take
part in hostilities, whether or not their liberty has been restricted, are
entitled to respect for their person, honour and convictions and religious
practices. They shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any
adverse distinction. It is prohibited to order that there shall be no
survivors.

2. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the following acts
against the persons referred to in paragraph I are and shall remain
prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever:

(a) violence to the life, health and physical or mental well-being of
persons, in particular murder as well as cruel treatment such as
torture, mutilation or any form of corporal punishment;

(b) collective punishments;

(c) taking of hostages;

(d) acts of terrorism;

(e) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and
degrading treatment, rape, enforced prostitution and any form or
indecent assault;

(f) slavery and the slave trade in all their forms;

(g) pillage;

(h) threats to commit any or the foregoing acts.

3. Children shall be provided with the care and aid they require, and in
particular:

(a) they shall receive an education, including religious and moral
education, in keeping with the wishes of their parents, or in the
absence of parents, of those responsible for their care;

(b) all appropriate steps shall be taken to facilitate the reunion of
families temporarily separated;

(c) children who have not attained the age of fifteen years shall neither
be recruited in the armed forces or groups nor allowed to take part
in hostilities;

(d) the special protection provided by this Article to children who have
not attained the age of fifteen years shall remain applicable to them
if they take a direct part in hostilities despite the provisions of
subparagraph (c) and are captured;

(e) measures shall be taken, if necessary, and whenever possible with the
consent of their parents or persons who by law or custom are
primarily responsible for their care, to remove children temporarily
from the area in which hostilities are taking place to a safer area
within the country and ensure that they are accompanied by persons
responsible for their safety and well-being.

Article 5 – Persons whose liberty has been restricted

1. In addition to the provisions of Article 4 the following provisions
shall be respected as a minimum with regard to persons deprived of their
liberty for reasons related to the armed conflict, whether they are
interned or detained;

(a) the wounded and the sick shall be treated in accordance with Article
7;

(b) the persons referred to in this paragraph shall, to the same extent
as the local civilian population, be provided with food and drinking
water and be afforded safeguards as regards health and hygiene and
protection against the rigours of the climate and the dangers of the
armed conflict;

(c) they shall be allowed to receive individual or collective relief;

(d) they shall be allowed to practise their religion and, if requested
and appropriate, to receive spiritual assistance from persons, such
as chaplains, performing religious functions;

(e) they shall, if made to work, have the benefit of working conditions
and safeguards similar to those enjoyed by the local civilian
population.

2. Those who are responsible for the internment or detention of the persons
referred to in paragraph 1 shall also, within the limits of their
capabilities, respect the following provisions relating to such persons:

(a) except when men and women of a family are accommodated together,
women shall be held in quarters separated from those of men and shall
be under the immediate supervision of women;

(b) they shall be allowed to send and receive letters and cards, the
number of which may be limited by competent authority if it deems
necessary;

(c) places of internment and detention shall not be located close to the
combat zone. The persons referred to in paragraph 1 shall be
evacuated when the places where they are interned or detained become
particularly exposed to danger arising out of the armed conflict, if
their evacuation can be carried out under adequate conditions of
safety;

(d) they shall have the benefit of medical examinations;

(e) their physical or mental health and integrity shall not be endangered
by any unjustified act or omission. Accordingly, it is prohibited to
subject the persons described in this Article to any medical
procedure which is not indicated by the state of health of the person
concerned, and which is not consistent with the generally accepted
medical standards applied to free persons under similar medical
circumstances.

3. Persons who are not covered by paragraph 1 but whose liberty has been
restricted in any way whatsoever for reasons related to the armed conflict
shall be treated humanely in accordance with Article 4 and with paragraphs
1 (a), (c) and (d), and 2 (b) of this Article.

4. If it is decided to release persons deprived of their liberty, necessary
measures to ensure their safety shall be taken by those so deciding.

Article 6 – Penal prosecutions

1. This Article applies to the prosecution and punishment of criminal
offences related to the armed conflict.

2. No sentence shall be passed and no penalty shall be executed on a person
found guilty of an offence except pursuant to a conviction pronounced by a
court offering the essential guarantees of independence and impartiality.
In particular:

(a) the procedure shall provide for an accused to be informed without
delay of the particulars of the offence alleged against him and shall
afford the accused before and during his trial all necessary rights
and means of defence;

(b) no one shall be convicted of an offence except on the basis of
individual penal responsibility;

(c) no one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any
act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence, under
the law, at the time when it was committed; nor shall a heavier
penalty be imposed than that which was applicable at the time when
the criminal offence was committed; if, after the commission of the
offence, provision is made by law for the imposition of a lighter
penalty, the offender shall benefit thereby;

(d) anyone charged with an offence is presumed innocent until proved
guilty according to law;

(e) anyone charged with an offence shall have the right to be tried in
his presence;

(f) no one shall be compelled to testify against himself or to confess
guilt.

3. A convicted person shall be advised on conviction of his judicial and
other remedies and of the time-limits within which they may be exercised.

4. The death penalty shall not be pronounced on persons who were under the
age of eighteen years at the time of the offence and shall not be carried
out on pregnant women or mothers of young children.

5. At the end of hostilities, the authorities in power shall endeavour to
grant the broadest possible amnesty to persons who have participated in the
armed conflict, or those deprived of their liberty for reasons related to
the armed conflict, whether they are interned or detained.

PART III

WOUNDED, SICK AND SHIPWRECKED

Article 7 – Protection and care

1. All the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, whether or not they have taken
part in the armed conflict, shall be respected and protected.

2. In all circumstances they shall be treated humanely and shall receive to
the fullest extent practicable and with the least possible delay, the
medical care and attention required by their condition. There shall be no
distinction among them founded on any grounds other than medical ones.

Article 8 – Search

Whenever circumstances permit and particularly after an engagement, all
possible measures shall be taken, without delay, to search for and collect
the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, to protect them against pillage and
ill-treatment, to ensure their adequate care, and to search for the dead,
prevent their being despoiled, and decently dispose of them.

Article 9 – Protection of medical and religious personnel

1. Medical and religious personnel shall be respected and protected and
shall be granted all available help for the performance of their duties.
They shall not be compelled to carry out tasks which are not compatible
with their humanitarian mission.

2. In the performance of their duties medical personnel may not be required
to give priority to any person except on medical grounds.

Article 10 – General protection of medical duties

1. Under no circumstances shall any person be punished for having carried
out medical activities compatible with medical ethics, regardless of the
person benefiting therefrom.

2. Persons engaged in medical activities shall neither be compelled to
perform acts or to carry out work contrary to, nor be compelled to refrain
from acts required by, the rules of medical ethics or other rules designed
for the benefit of the wounded and sick, or this Protocol.

3. The professional obligations of persons engaged in medical activities
regarding information which they may acquire concerning the wounded and
sick under their care shall, subject to national law, be respected.

4. Subject to national law, no person engaged in medical activities may be
penalized in any way for refusing or failing to give information concerning
the wounded and sick who are, or who have been, under his care.

Article 11 – Protection of medical units and transports

1. Medical units and transports shall be respected and protected at all
times and shall not be the object of attack.

2. The protection to which medical units and transports are entitled shall
not cease unless they are used to commit hostile acts, outside their
humanitarian function. Protection may, however, cease only after a warning
has been given, setting, whenever appropriate, a reasonable time-limit, and
after such warning has remained unheeded.

Article 12 – The distinctive emblem

Under the direction of the competent authority concerned, the distinctive
emblem of the red cross, red crescent or red lion and sun on a white ground
shall be displayed by medical and religious personnel and medical units,
and on medical transports. It shall be respected in all circumstances. It
shall not be used improperly.

PART IV

CIVILIAN POPULATION

Article 13 – Protection of the civilian population

1. The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general
protection against the dangers arising from military operations. To give
effect to this protection, the following rules shall be observed in all
circumstances.

2. The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall
not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence the primary
purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are
prohibited.

3. Civilians shall enjoy the protection afforded by this part, unless and
for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities.

Article 14 – Protection of objects indispensable to the survival of
the civilian population

Starvation of civilians as a method of combat is prohibited. It is
therefore prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless for that
purpose, objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population
such as food-stuffs, agricultural areas for the production of food-stuffs,
crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation
works.

Article 15 – Protection of works and installations containing
dangerous forces

Works or installations containing dangerous forces, namely dams, dykes and
nuclear electrical generating stations, shall not be made the object of
attack, even where these objects are military objectives, if such attack
may cause the release of dangerous forces and consequent severe losses
among the civilian population.

Article 16 – Protection of cultural objects and of places of worship

Without prejudice to the provisions of the Hague Convention for the
Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 14 May
1954, it is prohibited to commit any acts of hostility directed against
historic monuments, works of art or places of worship which constitute the
cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples, and to use them in support of
the military effort.

Article 17 – Prohibition of forced movement of civilians

1. The displacement of the civilian population shall not be ordered for
reasons related to the conflict unless the security of the civilians
involved or imperative military reasons so demand. Should such
displacements have to be carried out, all possible measures shall be taken
in order that the civilian population may be received under satisfactory
conditions of shelter, hygiene, health, safety and nutrition.

2. Civilians shall not be compelled to leave their own territory for
reasons connected with the conflict.

Article 18 – Relief societies and relief actions

1. Relief societies located in the territory of the High Contracting Party,
such as Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun) organizations may offer
their services for the performance of their traditional functions in
relation to the victims of the armed conflict. The civilian population may,
even on its own initiative, offer to collect and care for the wounded, sick
and shipwrecked.

2. If the civilian population is suffering undue hardship owing to a lack
of the supplies essential for its survival, such as food-stuffs and medical
supplies, relief actions for the civilian population which are of an
exclusively humanitarian and impartial nature and which are conducted
without any adverse distinction shall be undertaken subject to the consent
of the High Contracting Party concerned.

PART V

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 19 – Dissemination

This Protocol shall be disseminated as widely as possible.

Article 20 – Signature

This Protocol shall be open for signature by the Parties to the Conventions
six months after the signing of the Final Act and will remain open for a
period of twelve months.

Article 21 – Ratification

This Protocol shall be ratified as soon as possible. The instruments of
ratification shall be deposited with the Swiss Federal Council, depositary
of the Conventions.

Article 22 – Accession

This Protocol shall be open for accession by any Party to the Conventions
which has not signed it. The instruments of accession shall be deposited
with the depositary.

Article 23 – Entry into force

1. This Protocol shall enter into force six months after two instruments of
ratification or accession have been deposited.

2. For each Party to the Conventions thereafter ratifying or acceding to
this Protocol, it shall enter into force six months after the deposit by
such Party of its instrument of ratification or accession.

Article 24 – Amendment

1. Any High Contracting Party may propose amendments to this Protocol. The
text of any proposed amendment shall be communicated to the depositary
which shall decide, after consultation with all the High Contracting
Parties and the International Committee of the Red Cross, whether a
conference should be convened to consider the proposed amendment.

2. The depositary shall invite to that conference all the High Contracting
Parties as well as the Parties to the Conventions, whether or not they are
signatories of this Protocol.

Article 25 – renunciation

1. In case a High Contracting Party should denounce this Protocol, the
denunciation shall only take effect six months after receipt of the
instrument of denunciation. If, however, on the expiry of six months, the
denouncing Party is engaged in the situation referred to in Article 1, the
denunciation shall not take effect before the end of the armed conflict.
Persons who have been deprived of liberty, or whose liberty has been
restricted, for reasons related to the conflict shall nevertheless continue
to benefit from the provisions of this Protocol until their final release.

2. The denunciation shall be notified in writing to the depositary, which
shall transmit it to all the High Contracting Parties.

Article 26 – Notifications

The depositary shall inform the High Contracting Parties as well as the
Parties to the Conventions, whether or not they are signatories of this
Protocol, of:

(a) signatures affixed to this Protocol and the deposit of instruments of
ratification and accession under Articles 21 and 22;

(b) the date of entry into force of this Protocol under Article 23; and

(c) communications and declarations received under Article 24.

Article 27 – Registration

1. After its entry into force, this Protocol shall be transmitted by the
depositary to the Secretariat of the United Nations for registration and
publication, in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United
Nations.

2. The depositary shall also inform the Secretariat of the United Nations
of all ratifications, accessions and denunciations received by it with
respect to this Protocol.

Article 28 – Authentic texts

The original of this Protocol, of which the Arabic, Chinese, English,
French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic shall be deposited
with the depositary, which shall transmit certified true copies thereof to
all the Parties to the Conventions.

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Entered into Force: 7 December 1978

Parties Ratifying the Protocols, with year of ratification
* = Reservation;
I = Protocol I alone accepted. II = Protocol II alone accepted. Otherwise
both accepted

Protocol I 96 As of April 1990
Protocol II 86
Algeria* 1989; Angola* 84 I; Antigua 86; Argentina* 86; Austria* 82;
Bahamas 80; Bahrain 86; Bangladesh 80; Barbados 90; Belgium* 86; Belize 84;
Benin 86; Bolivia 83; Botswana 79; Bulgaria 89; Burkina Faso 87; Belarus
89; Cameroon 84; Central African Republic 84; China* 83; Comoros 85; Congo
83; Costa Rica 83; Cuba 82 I; Cyprus 79 I; Czechoslovakia 90; Denmark* 82;
Ecuador 79; El Salvador 78; Equitorial Guinea 86; Finland* 80; France 84
II; Gabon 80; Gambia 89; Ghana 78; Greece 89 I; Guatemala 87; Guinea 84;
Guinea-Bissau 86; Guyana 88; Holy See* 85; Hungary 89; Iceland 87; Italy*
86; Ivory Coast 89; Jamaica 86; Jordan 79; Korea (North) 88 I; Korea
(South)* 82; Kuwait 85; Laos 80; Liberia 88; Libya 78; Liechtenstein* 89;
Luxembourg 89; Mali 89; Malta* 89; Mauritania 80; Mauritius 82; Mexico 83
I; Mozambique 83 I; Namibia 83; Netherlands 87; New Zealand* 88; Niger 79;
Nigeria 88; Norway* 81; Oman* 84; Peru 89; Philippines 86 II; Qatar* 88 I;
Russian Federation [then USSR] 89; Rwanda 84; St Christopher 86; St Lucia
82; St Vincent 83; Samoa 84; Saudi Arabia* 87 I; Senegal 85; Seychelles 84;
Sierra Leone 86; Solomon Is 88; Spain* 89; Suriname 85; Sweden* 79;
Switzerland* 82; Syria* 83 I; Tanzania 83; Togo 84; Tunisia 79; Ukraine 90;
UAE* 83; Uruguay 85; Vanuatu 85; Vietnam 81 I; Yemen 90; Yugoslavia* 79;
Zaire 82 I.