Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Sick and Wounded of Armies in the Field. Signed at Geneva, July 6, 1906 His Majesty the Emperor of Germany, King of Prussia; His Excellency the President of the Argentine Republic; His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, etc., and Apostolic King of Hungary; His Majesty the King of the Belgians; His Royal Highness the Prince of Bulgaria; His Excellency the President of the Republic of Chile; His Majesty the Emperor of China; His Majesty the King of the Belgians, Sovereign of the Congo Free State; His Majesty the Emperor of Corea; His Majesty the King of Denmark; His Majesty the King of Spain; the President of the United States of America; the President of the United States of Brazil; the President of the United Mexican States; the President of the French Republic; His Majesty the King of the United Kingdow of Great Britain and Ireland, Emperor of India; His Majesty the King of the Hellenes; the President of the Republic of Guatemala; the President of the Republic of Honduras; His Majesty the King of Italy; His Majesty the Emperor of Japan; His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Luxemburg, Duke of Nassau; His Highness the Prince of Montenegro; His Majesty the King of Norway; Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands; the President of the Republic of Peru; His Imperial Majesty the Shah of Persia; His Majesty the King of Portugal and of the Algarves, etc.; His Majesty the King of Roumania; His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias; His Majesty the King of Servia; His Majesty the King of Siam; His Majesty the King of Sweden; the Swiss Federal Council; the President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, Being equally animated by the desire to lessen the inherent evils of warfare as far as is within their power, and wishing for this purpose to improve and supplement the provisions agreed upon at Geneva, on August 22, 1864, for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded of armies in the field, Have decided to conclude a new convention to that effect, and have appointed as their plenipotentiaries, to wit: * * * The President of the United States of America: Mr. William Cary Sanger, former Assistant Secretary of War of the United States of America, Vice-Admiral Charles S. Sperry, President of the Naval War College, Brigadier-General George B. Davis, Judge-Advocate General of the Army, Brigadier-General Robert M. O'Reilly, Surgeon-General of the Army, (NOTE. In the list of plenipotentiaries following above, Vice-Admiral Charles S. Sperry, President of the Naval War College, should be RearAdmiral Charles S. Sperry, &c., &c.) Who, after having communicated to each other their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed on the following: CHAPTER I The sick and wounded ARTICLE I. Officers, soldiers, and other persons officially attached to armies, who are sick or wounded, shall be respected and cared for, without distinction of nationality, by the belligerent in whose power they are. A belligerent, however, when compelled to leave his wounded in the hands of his adversary, shall leave with them, so far as military conditions permit, a portion of the personnel and matériel of his sanitary service to assist in caring for them. ART. 2. Subject to the care that must be taken of them under the preceding article, the sick and wounded of an army who fall into the power of the other belligerent become prisoners of war, and the general rules of international law in respect to prisoners become applicable to them. The belligerents remain free, however, to mutually agree upon such clauses, by way of exception or favor, in relation to the wounded or sick as they may deem proper. They shall especially have authority to agree: 1. To mutually return the sick and wounded left on the field of battle after an engagement. 2. To send back to their own country the sick and wounded who have recovered, or who are in a condition to be transported, and whom they do not desire to retain as prisoners. 3. To send the sick and wounded of the enemy to a neutral state, with the consent of the latter and on condition that it shall charge itself with their internment until the close of hostilities. ART. 3. After every engagement the belligerent who remains in possession of the field of battle shall take measures to search for the wounded and to protect the wounded and dead from robbery and ill treatment. He will see that a careful examination is made of the bodies of the dead prior to their interment or incineration. ART. 4. As soon as possible each belligerent shall forward to the authorities of their country or army the marks or military papers of identification found upon the bodies of the dead, together with a list of names of the sick and wounded taken in charge by him. Belligerents will keep each other mutually advised of internments and transfers, together with admissions to hospitals and deaths which occur among the sick and wounded in their hands. They will collect all objects of personal use, valuables, letters, etc., which ase found upon the field of battle, or have been left by the sick or wounded who have died in sanitary formations or other establishments, for transmission to persons in interest through the authorities of their own country. ART. 5. Military authorities may make an appeal to the charitable zeal of the inhabitants to receive and, under its supervision to care for the sick and wounded of the armies, granting to persons responding to such appeals special protection and certain immunities. CHAPTER II Sanitary formations and establishments ART. 6. Mobile sanitary formations (i. e., those which are intended to accompany armies in the field) and the fixed establishments belonging to the sanitary service shall be protected and respected by belligerents. ART. 7. The protection due to sanitary formations and establishments ceases if they are used to commit acts injurious to the enemy. ART. 8. A sanitary formation or establishment shall not be deprived of the protection accorded by article 6 by the fact: 1. That the personnel of a formation or establishment is armed and uses its arms in self-defense or in defense of its sick and wounded. 2. That in the absence of armed hospital attendants, the formation is guarded by an armed detachment or by sentinels acting under competent orders. 3. That arms or cartridges, taken from the wounded and not yet turned over to the proper authorities, are found in the formation or establishment. CHAPTER III Personnel ART. 9. The personnel charged exclusively with the removal, transportation, and treatment of the sick and wounded, as well as with the administration of sanitary formations and establishments, and the chaplains attached to armies, shall be respected and protected under all circumstances. If they fall into the hands of the enemy they shall not be considered prisoners of war. These provisions apply to the guards of sanitary formations and establishments in the case provided for in section 2 of Article 8. ART. 10. The personnel of volunteer aid societies, duly recognized. and authorized by their own governments, who are employed in the sanitary formations and establishments of armies, are assimilated to the personnel contemplated in the preceding article, upon condition that the said personnel shall be subject to military laws and regulations. Each state shall make known to the other, either in time of peace, or at the opening, or during the progress of hostilities, and in any case before actual employment, the names of the societies which it has authorized to render assistance, under its responsibility, in the official sanitary service of its armies. ART. 11. A recognized society of a neutral state can only lend the services of its sanitary personnel and formations to a belligerent with the prior consent of its own government and the authority of such belligerent. The belligerent who has accepted such assistance is required to notify the enemy before making any use thereof. ART. 12. Persons described in articles 9, 10, and 11 will continue in the exercise of their functions, under the direction of the enemy, after they have fallen into his power. When their assistance is no longer indispensable they will be sent back to their army or country, within such period and by such route as may accord with military necessity. They will carry with them such effects, instruments, arms, and horses as their private property. ART. 13. While they remain in his power, the enemy will secure to the personnel mentioned in article 9 the same pay and allowances to which persons of the same grade in his own army are entitled. CHAPTER IV Matériel ART. 14. If mobile sanitary formations fall into the power of the enemy, they shall retain their matériel, including the teams, whatever may be the means of transportation and the conducting personnel. Competent military authority, however, shall have the right to employ it in caring for the sick and wounded. The restitution of the matériel shall take place in accordance with the conditions prescribed for the sanitary personnel, and, as far as possible, at the same time. ART. 15. Buildings and matériel pertaining to fixed establishments shall remain subject to the laws of war, but can not be diverted from their use so long as they are necessary for the sick and wounded. Com manders of troops engaged in operations, however, may use them, in case of important military necessity, if, before such use, the sick and wounded who are in them have been provided for. ART. 16. The matériel of aid societies admitted to the benefits of this convention, in conformity to the conditions therein established, is regarded as private property and, as such, will be respected under all circumstances, save that it is subject to the recognized right of requisition by belligerents in conformity to the laws and usages of war. CHAPTER V Convoys of evacuation ART. 17. Convoys of evacuation shall be treated as mobile sanitary formations subject to the following special provisions: 1. A belligerent intercepting a convoy may, if required by military necessity, break up such convoy, charging himself with the care of the sick and wounded whom it contains. 2. In this case the obligation to return the sanitary personnel, as provided for in article 12, shall be extended to include the entire military personnel employed, under competent orders, in the transportation and protection of the convoy. The obligation to return the sanitary matériel, as provided for in article 14, shall apply to railway trains and vessels intended for interior navigation which have been especially equipped for evacuation purposes, as well as to the ordinary vehicles, trains, and vessels which belong to the sanitary service. Military vehicles, with their teams, other than those belonging to the sanitary service, may be captured. The civil personnel and the various means of transportation obained by requisition, including railway matériel and vessels utilized for convoys, are subject to the general rules of international law. CHAPTER VI Distinctive emblem ART. 18. Out of respect to Switzerland the heraldic emblem of the red cross on a white ground, formed by the reversal of the federal colors, is continued as the emblem and distinctive sign of the sanitary service of armies. ART. 19. This emblem appears on flags and brassards as well as upon all matériel appertaining to the sanitary service, with the permission of the competent military authority. |