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Born in 1828 into the high society of Geneva, Switzerland, Henry Dunant was a banker by trade but a social worker at heart. As a teenager, Dunant dedicated himself to the care of Geneva's poor, but would soon go on to make a change that would benefit the world.
For as long as there have been societies, there have been wars between societies. Even compared to the wars of today, the wars of the past were gruesome, horrifying affairs of conquest that were absent of any rules of engagement or protections for the innocents caught in the crossfire. Thankfully, as civilizations progressed, so did the consciences of those in power.
While the most important and most thorough of the Geneva Conventions are the four written in the wake of World War II, the history of these documents stretches back to the 19th century.
A local committee was formed, consisting of Dunant, a Swiss general, two doctors, and a philanthropist. The committee's first meeting occurred in Geneva on February 17, 1863, marking the founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
On a mission to find French emperor Napoleon III, Dunant arrived in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in 1859. Dunant was horrified by the masses of casualties that filled the battlefield, and even further disturbed by the apparent ambivalence towards the wounded and dying.
The Geneva Conventions are a set of treaties and agreements that have been developed, expanded upon, and implemented across the course of more than 100 years. Their purpose is to lay out in detail the proper and humane treatment for various groups of individuals during a conflict, including active soldiers, prisoners of war, and civilians.
The Red Cross dedicated itself to the fair and humane treatment of all those affected by war. Just one year later, in 1864, with the help of the Swiss government, the committee was able to invite all the countries of Europe, along with the United States, Mexico, and Brazil, to Geneva with the intention of forming an international pact concerning the treatment of people caught in the horrors of war.
Ten years after the penning of the 1929 Geneva Convention, after 41 countries around the world had agreed to its stipulations, World War II broke out.
Since the First Geneva Convention, many more multinational meetings have been held in the name of wartime humanitarianism. The Hague Conventions, held in 1899 and 1907, further detailed the proper rules of international warfare, including stipulations against killing surrendered enemies and the looting of homes.
Officially titled the 'Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Geneva July 27, 1929,' the first Geneva Convention of the 20th century sought to fill in the gaps of the Hague Conventions' prisoner of war policies. In the aftermath of World War I, it was glaringly apparent that the stipulations set in place in the Hague were not thorough enough. The 1929 Geneva Convention did its best to address this, and to this day remains the bedrock of the humane treatment of combat prisoners.
The agreed-upon rules from both the Hague and Geneva conventions were summarily thrown out the window by all belligerents of WWII.
Concentration camps, fire bombings of civilian areas, massacres against prisoners of war, and countless other violations of the Geneva Conventions were committed throughout the bloody five years of the war. It was clear that a mere paper agreement did not have the power over its signatories it may have once had.
After the decided failure of the Geneva Conventions' signatories and the non-militarized Red Cross to uphold its rules of warfare, it became obvious that there was a need to change and update the contents of the Conventions in a way that would make them more easily enforceable.
What is today considered the most important and upheld of the Conventions is the Geneva Convention of 1949. This series of conferences updated and reaffirmed the previous conventions, and added new articles in an attempt to keep up with the constantly shapeshifting face of war.
The Second Convention addressed maritime soldiers and their treatment in the event of a ship being captured. It was modeled in form after the First Convention, and acted as a replacement for segments of the then-outdated Hague Convention of 1907.
The Third Convention of 1949 updated, revamped, and replaced the 20-year-old 1929 Convention that dealt with the same matter. The horrific events concerning POWs and civilian prisoners during WWII made this a priority.
All in all, 196 countries have signed and ratified the 1949 Geneva Conventions. These include nations as large as the United States and as small as Vatican City.
The fourth and final Geneva Convention of 1949 dealt with the "Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War." Unlike any of the wartime behavior agreements of the past, the Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly addressed the treatment of non-combatant, non-aid worker civilians in combat zones.
Colonial entities such as the United Kingdom and France resisted certain terms included in the 1949 Conventions that they saw as a danger to their colonial interests. After much deliberation, this anti-colonial "language" was successfully removed from the drafts of the Geneva Conventions.
Eighteen nations signed and agreed to these four new Conventions on August 12, 1949. Many representatives, however, needed time to go over the new articles with their respective governments. Another signing ceremony was held later that year in December, and various other nations have signed, accessioned, or ratified the Conventions over time.
However, the road to 196 signatures was a long one. Certain key powers, such as the United States and Japan, took years to agree. Japan signed and agreed to ratify the Conventions in 1953, while the United States agreed in 1955. Throughout the decline of global colonialism, newly independent nations signed on as the chance became available to them.
While the Geneva Conventions certainly did no harm, many critics argue that the 1949 updates were already obsolete by the time they were signed. They nature of war changed rapidly throughout the Cold War, and the 1949 Conventions said very little that was applicable to the proxy wars, remote warfare, guerilla warfare, and nuclear threats that came to characterize the era.
In 1977, updates were finally made to the 1949 Conventions to address the modern nature of warfare and the state of contemporary geopolitical conflicts.
While the Geneva Conventions have always worked towards the noble task of ensuring humanity in times of barbarism, they have proven infinitely hard to enforce, even amongst their signatories. Key nations such as the United States have still failed to ratify Protocol I and Protocol II. However, with these historical agreements being used as a guideline towards a more humane future, there is still hope of just interactions between nations for the coming generations.
Sources: (International Committee of the Red Cross) (Britannica) (History)
See also: History's most important peace treaties
Protocol II of 1977 addressed the modern face of internal conflicts, which included the civil wars, insurrections, and proxy wars that took place across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia in the wake of World War II.
Protocol I of 1977 addressed the rights of those involved in what were called "international conflicts," which included armed conflicts in which "peoples are fighting against colonial domination, alien occupation or racist regimes."
Dunant took it upon himself to rally able-bodied civilians into a makeshift first-aid unit and took care of as many of the wounded soldiers, from all sides of the conflict, as they could. Back in Geneva, Dunant wrote about his experience and called for the establishment of an organization that would assist in the medical aid of those wounded in conflict, regardless of loyalties.
The First Geneva Convention was presided over by Swiss general Guillaume Henri Dufour on August 22, 1864. The resulting agreement was signed by 12 nations, all European, and consisted of four simple mandates: the safety of establishments tending to the wounded; the non-discriminatory treatment of all those wounded, regardless of loyalties; the protection of civilians providing aid; and the implementation and recognition of the Red Cross as a universal symbol for care and aid.
The final and very brief protocol, Protocol III, was penned in 2005 in order to cement the "red crystal" as an additional international sign of aid activity, alongside the red cross and the red crescent. The red cross is used in predominately Christian areas or by predominately Christian organizations, while the red crescent indicates a connection to Islam. The red crystal was added as a neutral option and holds just as much authority and protections as its two older counterparts.
The First Convention of 1949 sought to strengthen the stipulations of the original 1864 convention regarding the safety and treatment of wounded soldiers.
Few international, multilateral agreements have stayed as relevant, as influential, and as impactful as the group of documents known as the Geneva Conventions. With a history stretching over more than a century, the Geneva Conventions, first conceived by the International Committee of the Red Cross, have tried to curb the unnecessary loss, tragedy, and brutality of wartime situations. These pages that pioneer the concept of wartime humanity have been consistently updated over time to keep up with the new methods with which war is waged, and have tried to turn the impossible into a reality.
Intrigued? Read on to learn more about one of the world's most important peace agreements.
The Geneva Conventions: understanding the rules of war
The Red Cross and its influential peace-keeping agreements
LIFESTYLE History
Few international, multilateral agreements have stayed as relevant, as influential, and as impactful as the group of documents known as the Geneva Conventions. With a history stretching over more than a century, the Geneva Conventions, first conceived by the International Committee of the Red Cross, have tried to curb the unnecessary loss, tragedy, and brutality of wartime situations. These pages that pioneer the concept of wartime humanity have been consistently updated over time to keep up with the new methods with which war is waged, and have tried to turn the impossible into a reality.
Intrigued? Read on to learn more about one of the world's most important peace agreements.