Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977.



PREAMBLE.

The High Contracting Parties,

Proclaiming their earnest wish to see peace prevail among peoples,
Recalling that every State has the duty, in conformity with the Charter of the
United Nations, to refrain in its international relations from the threat or use of
force against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of
any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United
Nations,

Believing it necessary nevertheless to reaffirm and develop the provisions
protecting the victims of armed conflicts and to supplement measures intended
to reinforce their application,

Expressing their conviction that nothing in this Protocol or in the Geneva
Conventions of 12 August 1949 can be construed as legitimizing or authorizing
any act of aggression or any other use of force inconsistent with the Charter of
the United Nations,

Reaffirming further that the provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August
1949 and of this Protocol must be fully applied in all circumstances to all
persons who are protected by those instruments, without any adverse
distinction based on the nature or origin of the armed conflict or on the causes
espoused by or attributed to the Parties to the conflict,

Have agreed on the following:

PART I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Art 1. General principles and scope of application
1. The High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for
this Protocol in all circumstances.

2. In cases not covered by this Protocol or by other international agreements,
civilians and combatants remain under the protection and authority of the
principles of international law derived from established custom, from the
principles of humanity and from dictates of public conscience.

3. This Protocol, which supplements the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949
for the protection of war victims, shall apply in the situations referred to in
Article 2 common to those Conventions.

4. The situations referred to in the preceding paragraph include armed
conflicts which peoples are fighting against colonial domination and alien
occupation and against racist regimes in the exercise of their right of selfdetermination,
as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the
Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations
and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United
Nations.

Art 2. Definitions
For the purposes of this Protocol

(a) "First Convention", "Second Convention", "Third Convention" and "Fourth
Convention" mean, respectively, the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of
the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of 12
August 1949; the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of
Wounded, Sick and Ship-wrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of 12 August
1949; the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of
12 August 1949; the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian
Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949; "the Conventions" means the four
Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 for the protection of war victims;

(b) "Rules of international law applicable in armed conflict" means the rules
applicable in armed conflict set forth in international agreements to which the
Parties to the conflict are Parties and the generally recognized principles and
rules of international law which are applicable to armed conflict;

(c) "Protecting Power" means a neutral or other State not a Party to the
conflict which has been designated by a Party to the conflict and accepted by
the adverse Party and has agreed to carry out the functions assigned to a
Protecting Power under the Conventions and this Protocol;

(d) "Substitute" means an organization acting in place of a Protecting Power in
accordance with Article 5.

Art 3. Beginning and end of application
Without prejudice to the provisions which are applicable at all times:

(a) the Conventions and this Protocol shall apply from the beginning of any
situation referred to in Article 1 of this Protocol.

(b) the application of the Conventions and of this Protocol shall cease, in the
territory of Parties to the conflict, on the general close of military operations
and, in the case of occupied territories, on the termination of the occupation,
except, in either circumstance, for those persons whose final release,
repatriation or re-establishment takes place thereafter. These persons shall
continue to benefit from the relevant provisions of the Conventions and of this
Protocol until their final release repatriation or re-establishment.

Art 4. Legal status of the Parties to the conflict
The application of the Conventions and of this Protocol, as well as the
conclusion of the agreements provided for therein, shall not affect the legal
status of the Parties to the conflict. Neither the occupation of a territory nor
the application of the Conventions and this Protocol shall affect the legal
status of the territory in question.

Art 5. Appointment of Protecting Powers and of their substitute
1. It is the duty of the Parties to a conflict from the beginning of that conflict
to secure the supervision and implementation of the Conventions and of this
Protocol by the application of the system of Protecting Powers, including inter
alia the designation and acceptance of those Powers, in accordance with the
following paragraphs. Protecting Powers shall have the duty of safeguarding the
interests of the Parties to the conflict.

2. From the beginning of a situation referred to in Article 1, each Party to the
conflict shall without delay designate a Protecting Power for the purpose of
applying the Conventions and this Protocol and shall, likewise without delay
and for the same purpose, permit the activities or a Protecting Power which
has been accepted by it as such after designation by the adverse Party.

3. If a Protecting Power has not been designated or accepted from the
beginning of a situation referred to in Article 1, the International Committee of
the Red Cross, without prejudice to the right of any other impartial
humanitarian organization to do likewise, shall offer its good offices to the
Parties to the conflict with a view to the designation without delay of a
Protecting Power to which the Parties to the conflict consent. For that purpose
it may inter alia ask each Party to provide it with a list of at least five States
which that Party considers acceptable to act as Protecting Power on its behalf
in relation to an adverse Party and ask each adverse Party to provide a list or
at least five States which it would accept as the Protecting Power of the first
Party; these lists shall be communicated to the Committee within two weeks
after the receipt or the request; it shall compare them and seek the agreement
of any proposed State named on both lists.

4. If, despite the foregoing, there is no Protecting Power, the Parties to the
conflict shall accept without delay an offer which may be made by the
International Committee of the Red Cross or by any other organization which
offers all guarantees of impartiality and efficacy, after due consultations with
the said Parties and taking into account the result of these consultations, to
act as a substitute. The functioning of such a substitute is subject to the
consent of the Parties to the conflict; every effort shall be made by the Parties
to the conflict to facilitate the operations of the substitute in the performance
of its tasks under the Conventions and this Protocol.

5. In accordance with Article 4, the designation and acceptance of Protecting
Powers for the purpose of applying the Conventions and this Protocol shall not
affect the legal status of the Parties to the conflict or of any territory,
including occupied territory.

6. The maintenance of diplomatic relations between Parties to the conflict or
the entrusting of the protection of a Party's interests and those of its nationals
to a third State in accordance with the rules of international law relating to
diplomatic relations is no obstacle to the designation of Protecting Powers for
the purpose of applying the Conventions and this Protocol.

7. Any subsequent mention in this Protocol of a Protecting Power includes also
a substitute.

Art 6. Qualified persons
1. The High Contracting Parties shall, also in peacetime, endeavour, with the
assistance of the national Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun)
Societies, to train qualified personnel to facilitate the application of the
Conventions and of this Protocol, and in particular the activities of the
Protecting Powers.

2. The recruitment and training of such personnel are within domestic
jurisdiction.

3. The International Committee of the Red Cross shall hold at the disposal of
the High Contracting Parties the lists of persons so trained which the High
Contracting Parties may have established and may have transmitted to it for
that purpose.

4. The conditions governing the employment of such personnel outside the
national territory shall, in each case, be the subject of special agreements
between the Parties concerned.

Article 7 - Meetings
The depositary of this Protocol shall convene a meeting of the High Contracting
Parties, at the request of one or more of the said Parties and upon, the
approval of the majority of the said Parties, to consider general problems
concerning the application of the Conventions and of the Protocol.

Part. II WOUNDED, SICK AND SHIPWRECKED

Section I : General Protection

Art 8. Terminology
For the purposes of this Protocol:

a) "Wounded" and "sick" mean persons, whether military or civilian, who,
because of trauma, disease or other physical or mental disorder or disability,
are in need of medical assistance or care and who refrain from any act of
hostility. These terms also cover maternity cases, new-born babies and other
persons who may be in need of immediate medical assistance or care, such as
the infirm or expectant mothers, and who refrain from any act of hostility;

b) "Shipwrecked" means persons, whether military or civilian, who are in peril
at sea or in other waters as a result of misfortune affecting them or the vessel
or aircraft carrying them and who refrain from any act of hostility. These
persons, provided that they continue to refrain from any act of hostility, shall
continue to be considered shipwrecked during their rescue until they acquire
another status under the Conventions or this Protocol;

c) "Medical personnel" means those persons assigned, by a Party to the conflict,
exclusively to the medical purposes enumerated under e) or to the
administration of medical units or to the operation or administration of medical
transports. Such assignments may be either permanent or
temporary. The term includes:

i) medical personnel of a Party to the conflict, whether military or civilian,
including those described in the First and Second Conventions, and those
assigned to civil defence organizations;

ii) medical personnel of national Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun)
Societies and other national voluntary aid societies duly recognized and
authorized by a Party to the conflict;

iii) medical personnel or medical units or medical transports described in

Article 9, paragraph 2.

d) "Religious personnel" means military or civilian persons, such as chaplains,
who are exclusively engaged in the work of their ministry and attached:

i) to the armed forces of a Party to the conflict;
ii) to medical units or medical transports of a Party to the conflict;
iii) to medical units or medical transports described in Article 9, Paragraph 2;
or
iv) to civil defence organizations of a Party to the conflict.
The attachment of religious personnel may be either permanent or temporary,
and the relevant provisions mentioned under k) apply to them;

e) "Medical units" means establishments and other units, whether military or
civilian, organized for medical purposes, namely the search for, collection,
transportation, diagnosis or treatment - including first-aid treatment - of the
wounded, sick and shipwrecked, or for the prevention of disease. The term
includes for example, hospitals and other similar units, blood transfusion
centres, preventive medicine centres and institutes, medical depots and the
medical and pharmaceutical stores of such units. Medical units may be fixed or
mobile, permanent or temporary;

f) "Medical transportation" means the conveyance by land, water or air of the
wounded, sick, shipwrecked, medical personnel, religious personnel, medical
equipment or medical supplies protected by the Conventions and by this
Protocol;

g) "Medical transports" means any means of transportation, whether military or
civilian, permanent or temporary, assigned exclusively to medical
transportation and under the control of a competent authority of a Party to the
conflict;

h) "Medical vehicles" means any medical transports by land;

i) "Medical ships and craft" means any medical transports by water;

j) "Medical aircraft" means any medical transports by air;

k) "Permanent medical personnel", "permanent medical units" and "permanent
medical transports" mean those assigned exclusively to medical purposes for an
indeterminate period. "Temporary medical personnel" "temporary medicalunits"
and "temporary medical transports" mean those devoted exclusively to
medical purposes for limited periods during the whole of such periods. Unless
otherwise specified, the terms "medical personnel", "medical units" and
"medical transports" cover both permanent and temporary categories;

l) "Distinctive emblem" means the distinctive emblem of the red cross, red
crescent or red lion and sun on a white ground when used for the protection of
medical units and transports, or medical and religious personnel, equipment or
supplies;

m) "Distinctive signal" means any signal or message specified for the
identification exclusively of medical units or transports in Chapter III of Annex I
to this Protocol.

Art 9. Field of application

1. This Part, the provisions of which are intended to ameliorate the condition
of the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, shall apply to all those affected by a
situation referred to in Article 1, 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.

2. The relevant provisions of Articles 27 and 32 of the First Convention shall
apply to permanent medical units and transports (other than hospital ships, to
which Article 25 of the Second Convention applies) and their personnel made
available to a Party to the conflict for humanitarian
purposes:

(a) by a neutral or other State which is not a Party to that conflict;
(b) by a recognized and authorized aid society of such a State;
(c) by an impartial international humanitarian organization.

Art 10 Protection and care

1. All the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, to whichever Party they belong,
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 11 - Protection of persons

1. The physical or mental health and integrity of persons who are in the power
of the adverse Party or who are interned, detained or otherwise deprived of
liberty as a result of a situation referred to in Article 1 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 generally accepted medical standards which would be applied
under similar medical circumstances to persons who are nationals of the Party
conducting the procedure and who are in no way deprived of liberty.

2. It is, in particular, prohibited to carry out on such persons, even with their
consent:
(a) physical mutilations;
(b) medical or scientific experiments;
(c) removal of tissue or organs for transplantation, except where these acts are
justified in conformity with the conditions provided for in paragraph 1.

3. Exceptions to the prohibition in paragraph 2 (c) may be made only in the
case of donations of blood for transfusion or of skin for grafting, provided that
they are given voluntarily and without any coercion or inducement, and then
only for therapeutic purposes, under conditions consistent with generally
accepted medical standards and controls designed for the benefit of both the
donor and the recipient.

4. Any wilful act or omission which seriously endangers the physical or mental
health or integrity of any person who is in the power of a Party other than the
one on which he depends and which either violates any of the prohibitions in
paragraphs 1 and 2 or fails to comply with the requirements of paragraph 3
shall be a grave breach of this Protocol.

5. The persons described in paragraph 1 have the right to refuse any surgical
operation. In case of refusal, medical personnel shall endeavour to obtain a
written statement to that effect, signed or acknowledged by the patient.

6. Each Party to the conflict shall keep a medical record for every donation of
blood for transfusion or skin for grafting by persons referred to in paragraph 1,
if that donation is made under the responsibility of that Party. In addition,
each Party to the conflict shall endeavour to keep a record of all medical
procedures undertaken with respect to any person who is interned, detained or
otherwise deprived of liberty as a result of a situation referred to in Article 1.
These records shall be available at all times for inspection by the Protecting
Power.

Art 12 Protection of medical units
1. Medical units shall be respected and protected at all times and shall not be
the object of attack.

2. Paragraph 1 shall apply to civilian medical units, provided that they:
(a) belong to one of the Parties to the conflict;
(b) are recognized and authorized by the competent authority of one of the
Parties to the conflict; or
(c) are authorized in conformity with Article 9, paragraph 2, of this Protocol or
Article 27 of the First Convention.

3. The Parties to the conflict are invited to notify each other of the location of
their fixed medical units. The absence of such notification shall not exempt any
of the Parties from the obligation to comply with the provisions of paragraph 1.

4. Under no circumstances shall medical units be used in an attempt to shield
military objectives from attack. Whenever possible, the Parties to the conflict
shall ensure that medical units are so sited that attacks against military
objectives do not imperil their safety.

Art 13. Discontinuance of protection of civilian medical units

1. The protection to which civilian medical units are entitled shall not cease
unless they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian function, acts
harmful to the enemy. 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.

2. The following shall not be considered as acts harmful to the enemy:
(a) that the personnel of the unit are equipped with light individual weapons
for their own defence or for that of the wounded and sick in their charge;
(b) that the unit is guarded by a picket or by sentries or by an escort;
(c) that small arms and ammunition taken from the wounded and sick, and not
yet handed to the proper service, are found in the units;
(d) that members of the armed forces or other combatants are in the unit for
medical reasons.

Art 14 - Limitations on requisition of civilian medical units
1. The Occupying Power has the duty to ensure that the medical needs of the
civilian population in occupied territory continue to be satisfied.

2. The Occupying Power shall not, therefore, requisition civilian medical units,
their equipment, their materiel or the services of their personnel, so long as
these resources are necessary for the provision of adequate medical services
for the civilian population and for the continuing medical care of any wounded
and sick already under treatment.

3. Provided that the general rule in paragraph 2 continues to be observed, the
Occupying Power may requisition the said resources, subject to the following
particular conditions:
(a) that the resources are necessary for the adequate and immediate medical
treatment of the wounded and sick members of the armed forces of the
Occupying Power or of prisoners of war;
(b) that the requisition continues only while such necessity exists; and
(c) that immediate arrangements are made to ensure that the medical needs of
the civilian population, as well as those of any wounded and sick under
treatment who are affected by the requisition, continue to be satisfied.

Art 15. Protection of civilian medical and religious personnel
1. Civilian medical personnel shall be respected and protected.

2. If needed, all available help shall be afforded to civilian medical personnel
in an area where civilian medical services are disrupted by reason of combat
activity.

3. The Occupying Power shall afford civilian medical personnel in occupied
territories every assistance to enable them to perform, to the best of their
ability, their humanitarian functions. The Occupying Power may not require
that, in the performance of those functions, such personnel shall give priority
to the treatment of any person except on medical grounds. They shall not be
compelled to carry out tasks which are not compatible with their humanitarian
mission.

4. Civilian medical personnel shall have access to any place where their
services are essential, subject to such supervisory and safety measures as the
relevant Party to the conflict may deem necessary.

5. Civilian religious personnel shall be respected and protected. The provisions
of the Conventions and of this Protocol concerning the protection and
identification of medical personnel shall apply equally to such persons.

Art 16. General protection of medical duties
1. Under no circumstances shall any person be punished for carrying out
medical activities compatible with medical ethics, regardless of the person
benefiting therefrom.

2. Persons engaged in medical activities shall not be compelled to perform acts
or to carry out work contrary to the rules of medical ethics or to other medical
rules designed for the benefit of the wounded and sick or to the provisions of
the Conventions or of this Protocol, or to refrain from performing acts or from
carrying out work required by those rules and provisions.

3. No person engaged in medical activities shall be compelled to give to anyone
belonging either to an adverse Party, or to his own Party except as required by
the law of the latter Party, any information concerning the wounded and sick
who are, or who have been, under his care, if such information would, in his
opinion, prove harmful to the patients concerned or to their families.
Regulations for the compulsory notification of communicable diseases shall,
however, be respected.

Art 17. Role of the civilian population and of aid societies
1. The civilian population shall respect the wounded, sick and shipwrecked,
even if they belong to the adverse Party, and shall commit no act of violence
against them. The civilian population and aid societies, such as national Red
Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun) Societies, shall be permitted, even on
their own initiative, to collect and care for the wounded, sick and
shipwrecked, even in invaded or occupied areas. No one shall be harmed,
prosecuted, convicted or punished for such humanitarian acts.

2. The Parties to the conflict may appeal to the civilian population and the aid
societies referred to in paragraph 1 to collect and care for the wounded, sick
and shipwrecked, and to search for the dead and report their location; they
shall grant both protection and the necessary facilities to those who respond to
this appeal. If the adverse Party gains or regains control of the area, that Party
also shall afford the same protection and facilities for as long as they are
needed.

Art 18. Identification
1. Each Party to the conflict shall endeavour to ensure that medical and
religious personnel and medical units and transports are identifiable.

2. Each Party to the conflict shall also endeavour to adopt and to implement
methods and procedures which will make it possible to recognize medical units
and transports which use the distinctive emblem and distinctive signals.

3. In occupied territory and in areas where fighting is taking place or is likely to
take place, civilian medical personnel and civilian religious personnel should be
recognizable by the distinctive emblem and an identity card certifying their
status.

4. With the consent of the competent authority, medical units and transports
shall be marked by the distinctive emblem. The ships and craft referred to in
Article 22 of this Protocol shall be marked in accordance with the provisions of
the Second Convention.

5. In addition to the distinctive emblem, a Party to the conflict may, as
provided in Chapter III of Annex I to this Protocol, authorize the use of
distinctive signals to identify medical units and transports. Exceptionally, in
the special cases covered in that Chapter, medical transports may use
distinctive signals without displaying the distinctive emblem.

6. The application of the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 5 of this article is
governed by Chapters I to III of Annex I to this Protocol. Signals designated in
Chapter III of the Annex for the exclusive use of medical units and transports
shall not, except as provided therein, be used for any purpose other than to
identify the medical units and transports specified in that Chapter.

7. This article does not authorize any wider use of the distinctive emblem in
peacetime than is prescribed in Article 44 of the First Convention.

8. The provisions of the Conventions and of this Protocol relating to supervision
of the use of the distinctive emblem and to the prevention and repression of
any misuse thereof shall be applicable to distinctive signals.

Art 19. Neutral and other States not Parties to the conflict
Neutral and other States not Parties to the conflict shall apply the relevant
provisions of this Protocol to persons protected by this Part who may be
received or interned within their territory, and to any dead of the Parties to
that conflict whom they may find.

Art 20. - Prohibition of reprisals
Reprisals against the persons and objects protected by this Part are prohibited.
SECTION II. MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION

Art 21. Medical vehicles
Medical vehicles shall be respected and protected in the same way as mobile
medical units under the Conventions and this Protocol.

Art 22. Hospital ships and coastal rescue craft

1. The provisions of the Conventions relating to:

(a) vessels described in Articles 22, 24, 25 and 27 of the Second Convention,
(b) their lifeboats and small craft,
(c) their personnel and crews, and
(d) the wounded; sick and shipwrecked on board.
shall also apply where these vessels carry civilian wounded, sick and
shipwrecked who do not belong to any of the categories mentioned in Article
13 of the Second Convention. Such civilians shall not, however, be subject to
surrender to any Party which is not their own, or to capture at sea. If they find
themselves in the power of a Party to the conflict other than their own they
shall be covered by the Fourth Convention and by this Protocol.

2. The protection provided by the Conventions to vessels described in Article 25
of the Second Convention shall extend to hospital ships made available for
humanitarian purposes to a Party to the conflict:

(a) by a neutral or other State which is not a Party to that conflict; or
(b) by an impartial international humanitarian organization,
provided that, in either case, the requirements set out in that Article are
complied with.

3. Small craft described in Article 27 of the Second Convention shall be
protected, even if the notification envisaged by that Article has not been
made. The Parties to the conflict are, nevertheless, invited to inform each
other of any details of such craft which will facilitate their identification and
recognition.

Art 23. Other medical ships and craft

1. Medical ships and craft other than those referred to in Article 22 of this
Protocol and Article 38 of the Second Convention shall, whether at sea or in
other waters, be respected and protected in the same way as mobile medical
units under the Conventions and this Protocol. Since this protection can only be
effective if they can be identified and recognized as medical ships or craft,
such vessels should be marked with the distinctive emblem and as far as
possible comply with the second paragraph of Article 43 of the Second
Convention.

2. The ships and craft referred to in paragraph 1 shall remain subject to the
laws of war. Any warship on the surface able immediately to enforce its
command may order them to stop, order them off, or make them take a
certain course, and they shall obey every such command. Such ships and craft
may not in any other way be diverted from their medical mission so long as
they are needed for the wounded, sick and shipwrecked on board.

3. The protection provided in paragraph 1 shall cease only under the conditions
set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Second Convention. A clear refusal to obey
a command given in accordance with paragraph 2 shall be an act harmful to the
enemy under Article 34 of the Second Convention.

4. A Party to the conflict may notify any adverse Party as far in advance of
sailing as possible of the name, description, expected time of sailing, course
and estimated speed of the medical ship or craft, particularly in the case of
ships of over 2,000 gross tons, and may provide any other information which
would facilitate identification and recognition. The adverse Party shall
acknowledge receipt of such information.

5. The provisions of Article 37 of the Second Convention shall apply to medical
and religious personnel in such ships and craft.

6. The provisions of the Second Convention shall apply to the wounded, sick
and shipwrecked belonging to the categories referred to in Article 13 of the
Second Convention and in Article 44 of this Protocol who may be on board such
medical ships and craft. Wounded, sick and shipwrecked civilians who do not
belong to any or the categories mentioned in Article 13 of the Second
Convention shall not be subject, at sea, either to surrender to any Party which
is not their own, or to removal from such ships or craft; if they find themselves
in the power of a Party to the conflict other than their own, they shall be
covered by the Fourth Convention and by this Protocol.

Art 24. Protection of medical Aircraft
Medical aircraft shall be respected and protected, subject to the provisions of
this Part.

Art 25. Medical aircraft in areas not controlled by an adverse Party
In and over land areas physically controlled by friendly forces, or in and over
sea areas not physically controlled by an adverse Party, the respect and
protection of medical aircraft of a Party to the conflict is not dependent on any
agreement with an adverse Party. For greater safety, however, a Party to the
conflict operating its medical aircraft in these areas may notify the adverse
Party, as provided in Article 29, in particular when such aircraft are making
flights bringing them within range of surface-to-air weapons systems of the
adverse Party.

Art 26. Medical aircraft in contact or similar zones
1. ln and over those parts of the contact zone which are physically controlled
by friendly forces and in and over those areas the physical control of which is
not clearly established, protection for medical aircraft can be fully effective
only by prior agreement between the competent military authorities of the
Parties to the conflict, as provided for in Article 29. Although, in the absence
of such an agreement, medical aircraft operate at their own risk, they shall
nevertheless be respected after they have been recognized as such.

2. "Contact zone" means any area on land where the forward elements of
opposing forces are in contact with each other, especially where they are
exposed to direct fire from the ground.

Art 27. Medical aircraft in areas controlled by an adverse Party

1. The medical aircraft of a Party to the conflict shall continue to be protected
while flying over land or sea areas physically controlled by an adverse Party,
provided that prior agreement to such flights has been obtained from the
competent authority of that adverse Party.
2. A medical aircraft which flies over an area physically controlled by an
adverse Party without, or in deviation from the terms of, an agreement
provided for in paragraph 1, either through navigational error or because of an
emergency affecting the safety of the flight, shall make every effort to identify
itself and to inform the adverse Party of the circumstances. As soon as such
medical aircraft has been recognized by the adverse Party, that Party shall
make all reasonable efforts to give the order to land or to alight on water,
referred to in Article 30, paragraph 1, or to take other measures to safeguard
its own interests, and, in either case, to allow the aircraft time for
compliance, before resorting to an attack against the aircraft.

Art 28. Restrictions on operations of medical aircraft

1. The Parties to the conflict are prohibited from using their medical aircraft to
attempt to acquire any military advantage over an adverse Party. The presence
of medical aircraft shall not be used in an attempt to render military
objectives immune from attack.

2. Medical aircraft shall not be used to collect or transmit intelligence data and
shall not carry any equipment intended for such purposes. They are prohibited
from carrying any persons or cargo not included within the definition in Article
8 (6). The carrying on board of the personal effects of the occupants or of
equipment intended solely to facilitate navigation, communication or
identification shall not be considered as prohibited,

3. Medical aircraft shall not carry any armament except small arms and
ammunition taken from the wounded, sick and shipwrecked on board and not
yet handed to the proper service, and such light individual weapons as may be
necessary to enable the medical personnel on board to defend themselves and
the wounded, sick and shipwrecked in their charge.

4. While carrying out the flights referred to in Articles 26 and 27, medical
aircraft shall not, except by prior agreement with the adverse Party, be used
to search for the wounded, sick and shipwrecked.

Art 29. Notifications and agreements concerning medical aircraft
1. Notifications under Article 25, or requests for prior agreement under Articles
26, 27, 28, paragraph 4, or 31 shall state the proposed number of medical
aircraft, their flight plans and means of identification, and shall be understood
to mean that every flight will be carried out in compliance with Article 28.

2. A Party which receives a notification given under Article 25 shall at once
acknowledge receipt of such notification. 3. A Party which receives a request
for prior agreement under Articles 25, 27, 28, paragraph 4, or 31 shall, as
rapidly as possible, notify the requesting Party:

(a) that the request is agreed to;
(b) that the request is denied; or
(c) of reasonable alternative proposals to the request. It may also propose
prohibition or restriction of other flights in the area during the time involved. If
the Party which submitted the request accepts the alternative proposals, it
shall notify the other Party of such acceptance.

4. The Parties shall take the necessary measures to ensure that notifications
and agreements can be made rapidly.

5. The Parties shall also take the necessary measures to disseminate rapidly the
substance of any such notifications and agreements to the military units
concerned and shall instruct those units regarding the means of identification
that will be used by the medical aircraft in question.

Art 30. Landing and inspection of medical aircraft
1. Medical aircraft flying over areas which are physically controlled by an
adverse Party, or over areas the physical control of which is not clearly
established, may be ordered to land or to alight on water, as appropriate, to
permit inspection in accordance with the following paragraphs. Medical aircraft
shall obey any such order.

2. If such an aircraft lands or alights on water, whether ordered to do so or for
other reasons, it may be subjected to inspection solely to determine the
matters referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4. Any such inspection shall be
commenced without delay and shall be conducted expeditiously. The inspecting
Party shall not require the wounded and sick to be removed from the aircraft
unless their removal is essential for the inspection. That Party shall in any
event ensure that the condition of the wounded and sick is not adversely
affected by the inspection or by the removal.

3. If the inspection discloses that the aircraft:
(a) is a medical aircraft within the meaning of Article 8 (10),
(b) is not in violation of the conditions prescribed in Article 28, and
(c) has not flown without or in breach of a prior agreement where such
agreement is required, the aircraft and those of its occupants who belong to the adverse Party or to a
neutral or other State not a Party to the conflict shall be authorized to
continue the flight without delay.

4. If the inspection discloses that the aircraft:
(a) is not a medical aircraft within the meaning of Article 8 (10),
(b) is in violation or the conditions prescribed in Article 28, or
(c) has flown without or in breach of a prior agreement where such agreement
is required,
the aircraft may be seized. Its occupants shall be treated in conformity with
the relevant provisions of the Conventions and of this Protocol. Any aircraft
seized which had been assigned as a permanent medical aircraft may be used
thereafter only as a medical aircraft.

Art 31. Neutral or other States not Parties to the conflict
1. Except by prior agreement, medical aircraft shall not fly over or land in the
territory of a neutral or other State not a Party to the conflict. However, with
such an agreement, they shall be respected throughout their flight and also for
the duration of any calls in the territory. Nevertheless they shall obey any
summons to land or to alight on water, as appropriate.

2. Should a medical aircraft, in the absence of an agreement or in deviation
from the terms of an agreement, fly over the territory of a neutral or other
State not a Party to the conflict, either through navigational error or because
of an emergency affecting the safety of the flight, it shall make every effort to
give notice of the flight and to identify itself. As soon as such medical aircraft
is recognized, that State shall make all reasonable efforts to give the order to
land or to alight on water referred to in Article 30, paragraph 1, or to take
other measures to safeguard its own interests, and, in either case, to allow the
aircraft time for compliance, before resorting to an attack against the aircraft.

3. If a medical aircraft, either by agreement or in the circumstances mentioned
in paragraph 2, lands or alights on water in the territory of a neutral or other
State not Party to the conflict, whether ordered to do so or for other reasons,
the aircraft shall be subject to inspection for the purposes of determining
whether it is in fact a medical aircraft. The inspection shall be commenced
without delay and shall be conducted expeditiously. The inspecting Party shall
not require the wounded and sick of the Party operating the aircraft to be
removed from it unless their removal is essential for the inspection. The
inspecting Party shall in any event ensure that the condition of the wounded
and sick is not adversely affected by the inspection or the removal. If the
inspection discloses that the aircraft is in fact a medical aircraft, the aircraft
with its occupants, other than those who must be detained in accordance with
the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, shall be allowed to
resume its flight, and reasonable facilities shall be given for the continuation of
the flight. If the inspection discloses that the aircraft is not a medical aircraft,
it shall be seized and the occupants treated in accordance with paragraph 4.

4. The wounded, sick and shipwrecked disembarked, otherwise than
temporarily, from a medical aircraft with the consent of the local authorities in
the territory of a neutral or other State not a Party to the conflict shall, unless
agreed otherwise between that State and the Parties to the conflict, be
detained by that State where so required by the rules of international law
applicable in armed conflict, in such a manner that they cannot again take part
in the hostilities. The cost of hospital treatment and internment shall be borne
by the State to which those persons belong.

5. Neutral or other States not Parties to the conflict shall apply any conditions
and restrictions on the passage of medical aircraft over, or on the landing of
medical aircraft in, their territory equally to all Parties to the conflict.

Section III Missing and Dead Persons

Art 32. General principle
In the implementation of this Section, the activities of the High Contracting
Parties, of the Parties to the conflict and of the international humanitarian
organizations mentioned in the Conventions and in this Protocol shall be
prompted mainly by the right of families to know the fate of their relatives.

Art 33. Missing persons
1. As soon as circumstances permit, and at the latest from the end of active
hostilities, each Party to the conflict shall search for the persons who have
been reported missing by an adverse Party. Such adverse Party shall transmit
all relevant information concerning such persons in order to facilitate such
searches.

2. In order to facilitate the gathering of information pursuant to the preceding
paragraph, each Party to the conflict shall, with respect to persons who would
not receive more favourable consideration under the Conventions and this
Protocol:

(a) record the information specified in Article 138 of the Fourth Convention in
respect of such persons who have been detained, imprisoned or otherwise held
in captivity for more than two weeks as a result of hostilities or occupation, or
who have died during any period of detention;
(b) to the fullest extent possible, facilitate and, if need be, carry out the
search for and the recording of information concerning such persons if they
have died in other circumstances as a result of hostilities or occupation.

3. Information concerning persons reported missing pursuant to paragraph 1
and requests for such information shall be transmitted either directly or
through the Protecting Power or the Central Tracing Agency of the
International Committee of the Red Cross or national Red Cross (Red Crescent,
Red Lion and Sun) Societies. Where the information is not transmitted through
the International Committee of the Red Cross and its Central Tracing Agency,
each Party to the conflict shall ensure that such information is also supplied to
the Central Tracing Agency.

4. The Parties to the conflict shall endeavour to agree on arrangements for
teams to search for, identify and recover the dead from battlefield areas,
including arrangements, if appropriate, for such teams to be accompanied by
personnel of the adverse Party while carrying out these missions in areas
controlled by the adverse Party. Personnel of such teams shall be respected
and protected while exclusively carrying out these duties.

Art 34. Remains of deceased
1. The remains of persons who have died for reasons related to occupation or in
detention resulting from occupation or hostilities and those or persons not
nationals of the country in which they have died as a result of hostilities shall
be respected, and the gravesites of all such persons shall be respected,
maintained and marked as provided for in Article 130 of the Fourth Convention,
where their remains or gravesites would not receive more favourable
consideration under the Conventions and this Protocol.

2. As soon as circumstances and the relations between the adverse Parties
permit, the High Contracting Parties in whose territories graves and, as the
case may be, other locations of the remains of persons who have died as a
result of hostilities or during occupation or in detention are situated, shall
conclude agreements in order:
(a) to facilitate access to the gravesites by relatives of the deceased and by
representatives of official graves registration services and to regulate the
practical arrangements for such access;
(b) to protect and maintain such gravesites permanently;
(c) to facilitate the return of the remains of the deceased and of personal
effects to the home country upon its request or, unless that country objects,
upon the request of the next of kin.

3. In the absence of the agreements provided for in paragraph 2 (b) or (c) and
if the home country or such deceased is not willing to arrange at its expense
for the maintenance of such gravesites, the High Contracting Party in whose
territory the gravesites are situated may offer to facilitate the return of the
remains of the deceased to the home country. Where such an offer has not
been accepted the High Contracting Party may, after the expiry of five years
from the date of the offer and upon due notice to the home country, adopt the
arrangements laid down in its own laws relating to cemeteries and graves.

4. A High Contracting Party in whose territory the grave sites referred to in this
Article are situated shall be permitted to exhume the remains only:
(a) in accordance with paragraphs 2 (c) and 3, or
(b) where exhumation is a matter or overriding public necessity, including
cases of medical and investigative necessity, in which case the High
Contracting Party shall at all times respect the remains, and shall give notice
to the home country or its intention to exhume the remains together with
details of the intended place of reinterment.

Part III. Methods and Means of Warfare Combatant and Prisoners-
Of-War

Section I. Methods and Means of Warfare

Art 35. Basic rules
1. In any armed conflict, the right of the Parties to the conflict to choose
methods or means of warfare is not unlimited.

2. It is prohibited to employ weapons, projectiles and material and methods of
warfare of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering.

3. It is prohibited to employ methods or means of warfare which are intended,
or may be expected, to cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the
natural environment.

Art 36. New weapons
In the study, development, acquisition or adoption of a new weapon, means or
method of warfare, a High Contracting Party is under an obligation to
determine whether its employment would, in some or all circumstances, be
prohibited by this Protocol or by any other rule of international law applicable
to the High Contracting Party.

Art 37. Prohibition of Perfidy
1. It is prohibited to kill, injure or capture an adversary y resort to perfidy.
Acts inviting the confidence of an adversary to lead him to believe that he is
entitled to, or is obliged to accord, protection under the rules of international
law applicable in armed conflict, with intent to betray that confidence, shall
constitute perfidy. The following acts are examples of perfidy:

(a) the feigning of an intent to negotiate under a flag of truce or of a
surrender;
(b) the feigning of an incapacitation by wounds or sickness;
(c) the feigning of civilian, non-combatant status; and
(d) the feigning of protected status by the use of signs, emblems or uniforms of
the United Nations or of neutral or other States not Parties to the conflict.

2. Ruses of war are not prohibited. Such ruses are acts which are intended to
mislead an adversary or to induce him to act recklessly but which infringe no
rule of international law applicable in armed conflict and which are not
perfidious because they do not invite the confidence of an adversary with
respect to protection under that law. The following are examples of such ruses:
the use of camouflage, decoys, mock operations and misinformation.

Art 38. Recognized emblems
1. It is prohibited to make improper use of the distinctive emblem of the red
cross, red crescent or red lion and sun or of other emblems, signs or signals
provided for by the Conventions or by this Protocol. It is also prohibited to
misuse deliberately in an armed conflict other internationally recognized
protective emblems, signs or signals, including the flag of truce, and the
protective emblem of cultural property.

2. It is prohibited to make use of the distinctive emblem of the United Nations,
except as authorized by that Organization.

Art 39. Emblems of nationality
1. It is prohibited to make use in an armed conflict of the flags or military
emblems, insignia or uniforms of neutral or other States not Parties to the
conflict.

2. It is prohibited to make use of the flags or military emblems, insignia or
uniforms of adverse Parties while engaging in attacks or in order to shield,
favour, protect or impede military operations.

3. Nothing in this Article or in Article 37, paragraph 1 (d), shall affect the
existing generally recognized rules of international law applicable to espionage
or to the use of flags in the conduct of armed conflict at sea.

Art 40. Quarter
It is prohibited to order that there shall be no survivors, to threaten an
adversary therewith or to conduct hostilities on this basis.

Art 41. Safeguard of an enemy hors de combat
1. A person who is recognized or who, in the circumstances, should be
recognized to be hors de combat shall not be made the object of attack.

2. A person is hors de combat if:
(a) he is in the power of an adverse Party;
(b) he clearly expresses an intention to surrender; or
(c) he has been rendered unconscious or is otherwise incapacitated by wounds
or sickness, and therefore is incapable of defending himself;
provided that in any of these cases he abstains from any hostile act and does
not attempt to escape.

3. When persons entitled to protection as prisoners of war have fallen into the
power of an adverse Party under unusual conditions of combat which prevent
their evacuation as provided for in Part III, Section I, of the Third Convention,
they shall be released and all feasible precautions shall be taken to ensure
their safety.

Article 42 - Occupants of aircraft
1. No person parachuting from an aircraft in distress shall be made the object
of attack during his descent.

2. Upon reaching the ground in territory controlled by an adverse Party, a
person who has parachuted from an aircraft in distress shall be given an
opportunity to surrender before being made the object of attack, unless it is
apparent that he is engaging in a hostile act.

3. Airborne troops are not protected by this Article.

Section II. Combatants and Prisoners of War

Art 43. Armed forces
1. The armed forces of a Party to a conflict consist of all organized armed
forces, groups and units which are under a command responsible to that Party
for the conduct or its subordinates, even if that Party is represented by a
government or an authority not recognized by an adverse Party. Such armed
forces shall be subject to an internal disciplinary system which, inter alia, shall
enforce compliance with the rules of international law applicable in armed
conflict.

2. Members of the armed forces of a Party to a conflict (other than medical
personnel and chaplains covered by Article 33 of the Third Convention) are
combatants, that is to say, they have the right to participate directly in
hostilities.

3. Whenever a Party to a conflict incorporates a paramilitary or armed law
enforcement agency into its armed forces it shall so notify the other Parties to
the conflict.

Art 44. Combatants and prisoners of war
1. Any combatant, as defined in Article 43, who falls into the power of an
adverse Party shall be a prisoner of war.

2. While all combatants are obliged to comply with the rules of international
law applicable in armed conflict, violations of these rules shall not deprive a
combatant of his right to be a combatant or, if he falls into the power of an
adverse Party, of his right to be a prisoner of war, except as provided in
paragraphs 3 and 4.

3. In order to promote the protection of the civilian population from the
effects of hostilities, combatants are obliged to distinguish themselves from
the civilian population while they are engaged in an attack or in a military
operation preparatory to an attack. Recognizing, however, that there are
situations in armed conflicts where, owing to the nature of the hostilities an
armed combatant cannot so distinguish himself, he shall retain his status as a
combatant, provided that, in such situations, he
carries his arms openly:
(a) during each military engagement, and
(b) during such time as he is visible to the adversary while he is engaged in a
military deployment preceding the launching of an attack in which he is to
participate.
Acts which comply with the requirements of this paragraph shall not be
considered as perfidious within the meaning of Article 37, paragraph 1 (c).

4. A combatant who falls into the power of an adverse Party while failing to
meet the requirements set forth in the second sentence of paragraph 3 shall
forfeit his right to be a prisoner of war, but he shall, nevertheless, be given
protections equivalent in all respects to those accorded to prisoners of war by
the Third Convention and by this Protocol. This protection includes protections
equivalent to those accorded to prisoners of war by the Third Convention in the
case where such a person is tried and punished for any offences he has
committed.

5. Any combatant who falls into the power of an adverse Party while not
engaged in an attack or in a military operation preparatory to an attack shall
not forfeit his rights to be a combatant and a prisoner of war by virtue of his
prior activities .

6. This Article is without prejudice to the right of any person to be a prisoner
of war pursuant to Article 4 of the Third Convention.

7. This Article is not intended to change the generally accepted practice of
States with respect to the wearing of the uniform by combatants assigned to
the regular, uniformed armed units of a Party to the conflict.

8. In addition to the categories of persons mentioned in Article 13 of the First
and Second Conventions, all members of the armed forces of a Party to the
conflict, as defined in Article 43 of this Protocol, shall be entitled to protection
under those Conventions if they are wounded or sick or, in the case of the
Second Convention, shipwrecked at sea or in other waters.

Art 45. Protection of persons who have taken part in hostilities
1. A person who takes part in hostilities and falls into the power of an adverse
Party shall be presumed to be a prisoner of war, and therefore shall be
protected by the Third Convention, if he claims the status of prisoner of war,
or if he appears to be entitled to such status, or if the Party on which he
depends claims such status on his behalf by notification to the detaining Power
or to the Protecting Power. Should any doubt arise as to whether any such
person is entitled to the status of prisoner of war, he shall continue to have
such status and, therefore, to be protected by the Third Convention and this
Protocol until such time as his status has been determined by a competent
tribunal.

2. If a person who has fallen into the power of an adverse Party is not held as a
prisoner of war and is to be tried by that Party for an offence arising out of the
hostilities, he shall have the right to assert his entitlement to prisoner-of-war
status before a judicial tribunal and to have that question adjudicated.
Whenever possible under the applicable procedure, this adjudication shall
occur before the trial for the offence. The representatives of the Protecting
Power shall be entitled to attend the proceedings in which that question is
adjudicated, unless, exceptionally, the proceedings are held in camera in the
interest of State security. In such a case the detaining Power shall advise the
Protecting Power accordingly.

3. Any person who has taken part in hostilities, who is not entitled to prisonerof-
war status and who does not benefit from more favourable treatment in
accordance with the Fourth Convention shall have the right at all times to the
protection of Article 75 of this Protocol. In occupied territory, any such person,
unless he is held as a spy, shall also be entitled, notwithstanding Article 5 of
the Fourth Convention, to his rights of communication under that Convention.

Art 46. Spies
1. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Conventions or of this Protocol,
any member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict who falls into the
power of an adverse Party while engaging in espionage shall not have the right
to the status of prisoner of war and may be treated as a spy.

2. A member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict who, on behalf of
that Party and in territory controlled by an adverse Party, gathers or attempts
to gather information shall not be considered as engaging in espionage if, while
so acting, he is in the uniform of his armed forces.

3. A member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict who is a resident of
territory occupied by an adverse Party and who, on behalf of the Party on
which he depends, gathers or attempts to gather information of military value
within that territory shall not be considered as engaging in espionage unless he
does so through an act of false pretences or deliberately in a clandestine
manner. Moreover, such a resident shall not lose his right to the status of
prisoner of war and may not be treated as a spy unless he is captured while
engaging in espionage.

4. A member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict who is not a
resident of territory occupied by an adverse Party and who has engaged in
espionage in that territory shall not lose his right to the status of prisoner of
war and may not be treated as a spy unless he is captured before he has
rejoined the armed forces to which he belongs.

Art 47. Mercenaries
1. A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war.

2. A mercenary is any person who:
(a) is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict;
(b) does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities;
(c) is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for
private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict,
material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to
combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party;
(d) is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory
controlled by a Party to the conflict;
(e) is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; and
(f) has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official
duty as a member of its armed forces.

Part IV. Civilian Population

Section I. General Protection Against Effects of Hostilities

Chapter I. Basic rule and field of application

Art 48. Basic rule
In order to ensure respect for and protection of the civilian population and
civilian objects, the Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish
between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects
and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only
against military objectives.

Art 49. Definition of attacks and scope of application
1. "Attacks" means acts of violence against the adversary, whether in offence
or in defence.

2. The provisions of this Protocol with respect to attacks apply to all attacks in
whatever territory conducted, including the national territory belonging to a
Party to the conflict but under the control of an adverse Party.

3. The provisions of this section apply to any land, air or sea warfare which
may affect the civilian population, individual civilians or civilian objects on
land. They further apply to all attacks from the sea or from the air against
objectives on land but do not otherwise affect the rules of international law
applicable in armed conflict at sea or in the air.

4. The provisions of this section are additional to the rules concerning
humanitarian protection contained in the Fourth Convention, particularly in
part II thereof, and in other international agreements binding upon the High
Contracting Parties, as well as to other rules of international law relating to
the protection of civilians and civilian objects on land, at sea or in the air
against the effects of hostilities.

Chapter II. Civilians and civilian population

Art 50. Definition of civilians and civilian population

1. A civilian is any person who does not belong to one of the categories of
persons referred to in Article 4 (A) (1), (2), (3) and (6) of the Third Convention
and in Article 43 of this Protocol. In case of doubt whether a person is a
civilian, that person shall be considered to be a civilian.

2. The civilian population comprises all persons who are civilians.

3. The presence within the civilian population of individuals who do not come
within the definition of civilians does not deprive the population of its civilian
character.

Art 51. - Protection of the civilian population
1. The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection
against dangers arising from military operations. To give effect to this
protection, the following rules, which are additional to other applicable rules
of international law, 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 section, unless and for
such time as they take a direct part in hostilities.

4. Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited. Indiscriminate attacks are:
(a) those which are not directed at a specific military objective;
(b) those which employ a method or means of combat which cannot be
directed at a specific military objective; or
(c) those which employ a method or means of combat the effects of which
cannot be limited as required by this Protocol;
and consequently, in each such case, are of a nature to strike military
objectives and civilians or civilian objects without distinction.

5. Among others, the following types of attacks are to be considered as
indiscriminate:
(a) an attack by bombardment by any methods or means which treats as a
single military objective a number of clearly separated and distinct military
objectives located in a city, town, village or other area containing a similar
concentration of civilians or civilian objects;
and
(b) an attack which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life,
injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which
would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage
anticipated.

6. Attacks against the civilian population or civilians by way of reprisals are
prohibited.

7. The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians
shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military
operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks
or to shield, favour or impede military operations. The Parties to the conflict
shall not direct the movement of the civilian population or individual civilians
in order to attempt to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield
military operations.

8. Any violation of these prohibitions shall not release the Parties to the
conflict from their legal obligations with respect to the civilian population and
civilians, including the obligation to take the precautionary measures provided
for in Article 57.

Chapter III. Civilian objects

Art 52. General Protection of civilian objects
1. Civilian objects shall not be the object of attack or of reprisals. Civilian
objects are all objects which are not military objectives as defined in
paragraph 2.

2. Attacks shall be limited strictly to military objectives. In so far as objects
are concerned, military objectives are limited to those objects which by their
nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military
action and whose total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in the
circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage.

3. In case of doubt whether an object which is normally dedicated to civilian
purposes, such as a place of worship, a house or other dwelling or a school, is
being used to make an effective contribution to military action, it shall be
presumed not to be so used.

Art 53. 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, and of
other relevant international instruments, it is prohibited:
(a) to commit any acts of hostility directed against the historic monuments,
works of art or places of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual
heritage of peoples;
(b) to use such objects in support of the military effort;
(c) to make such objects the object of reprisals.

Art 54. Protection of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian
population
1. Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited.

2. It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless 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, for the specific purpose of
denying them for their sustenance value to the civilian population or to the
adverse Party, whatever the motive, whether in order to starve out civilians, to
cause them to move away, or for any other motive.

3. The prohibitions in paragraph 2 shall not apply to such of the objects
covered by it as are used by an adverse Party:
(a) as sustenance solely for the members of its armed forces; or
(b) if not as sustenance, then in direct support of military action, provided,
however, that in no event shall actions against these objects be taken which
may be expected to leave the civilian population with such inadequate food or
water as to cause its starvation or force its movement.

4. These objects shall not be made the object of reprisals.

5. In recognition of the vital requirements of any Party to the conflict in the
defence of its national territory against invasion, derogation from the
prohibitions contained in paragraph 2 may be made by a Party to the conflict
within such territory under its own control where required by imperative
military necessity.

Art 55. Protection of the natural environment
1. Care shall be taken in warfare to protect the natural environment against
widespread, long-term and severe damage. This protection includes a
prohibition of the use of methods or means of warfare which are intended or
may be expected to cause such damage to the natural environment and
thereby to prejudice the health or survival of the population.

2. Attacks against the natural environment by way of reprisals are prohibited.

Art 56. Protection of works and installations containing dangerous forces
1. 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. Other military objectives located at or in the vicinity of these
works or installations shall not be made the object of attack if such attack may
cause the release of dangerous forces from the works or installations and
consequent severe losses among the civilian population.

2. The special protection against attack provided by paragraph 1 shall cease:
(a) for a dam or a dyke only if it is used for other than its normal function and
in regular, significant and direct support of military operations and if such
attack is the only feasible way to terminate such support;
(b) for a nuclear electrical generating station only if it provides electric power
in regular, significant and direct support of military operations and if such
attack is the only feasible way to terminate such support;
(c) for other military objectives located at or in the vicinity of these works or
installations only if they are used in regular, significant and direct support of
military operations and if such attack is the only feasible way to terminate such
support.

3. In all cases, the civilian population and individual civilians shall remain
entitled to all the protection accorded them by international law, including the
protection of the precautionary measures provided for in Article 57. If the
protection Ceases and any of the works, installations or military objectives
mentioned in paragraph 1 is attacked, all practical precautions shall be taken
to avoid the release of the dangerous forces.

4. It is prohibited to make any of the works, installations or military objectives
mentioned in paragraph 1 the object of reprisals.

5. The Parties to the conflict shall endeavour to avoid locating any military
objectives in the vicinity of the works or installations mentioned in paragraph
1. Nevertheless, installations erected for the sole purpose of defending the
protected works or installations from attack are permissible and shall not
themselves be made the object of attack, provided that they are not used in
hostilities except for defensive actions necessary to respond to attacks against
the protected works or installations and that their armament is limited to
weapons capable only of repelling hostile action against the protected works or
installations.

6. The High Contracting Parties and the Parties to the conflict are urged to
conclude further agreements among themselves to provide additional
protection for objects containing dangerous forces.

7. In order to facilitate the identification of the objects protected by this
article, the Parties to the conflict may mark them with a special sign consisting
of a group of three bright orange circles placed on the same axis, as specified
in Article 16 of Annex I to this Protocol [Article 17 of Amended Annex]. The
absence of such marking in no way relieves any Party to the conflict of its
obligations under this Article.

Chapter IV. Precautionary measures

Art 57. Precautions in attack
1. In the conduct of military operations, constant care shall be taken to spare
the civilian population, civilians and civilian objects.

2. With respect to attacks, the following precautions shall be taken:
(a) those who plan or decide upon an attack shall:
(i) do everything feasible to verify that the objectives to be attacked are
neither civilians nor civilian objects and are not subject to special protection
but are military objectives within the meaning of paragraph 2 of Article 52 and
that it is not prohibited by the provisions of this Protocol to attack them;
(ii) take all feasible precautions in the choice of means and methods of attack
with a view to avoiding, and in any event to minimizing, incidental loss or
civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects;
(iii) refrain from deciding to launch any attack which may be expected to cause
incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or
a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete
and direct military advantage anticipated;
(b) an attack shall be cancelled or suspended if it becomes apparent that the
objective is not a military one or is subject to special protection or that the
attack may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to
civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be
excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated;
(c) effective advance warning shall be given of attacks which may affect the
civilian population, unless circumstances do not permit.

3. When a choice is possible between several military objectives for obtaining a
similar military advantage, the objective to be selected shall be that the
attack on which may be expected to cause the least danger to civilian lives and
to civilian objects.

4. In the conduct of military operations at sea or in the air, each Party to the
conflict shall, in conformity with its rights and duties under the rules of
international law applicable in armed conflict, take all reasonable precautions
to avoid losses of civilian lives and damage to civilian objects.

5. No provision of this article may be construed as authorizing any attacks
against the civilian population, civilians or civilian objects.

Art 58. Precautions against the effects of attacks
The Parties to the conflict shall, to the maximum extent feasible:
(a) without prejudice to Article 49 of the Fourth Convention, endeavour to
remove the civilian population, individual civilians and civilian objects under
their control from the vicinity of military objectives;
(b) avoid locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas;
(c) take the other necessary precautions to protect the civilian population,
individual civilians and civilian objects under their control against the dangers
resulting from military operations.

Chapter V. Localities and zones under special protection

Art 59. Non-defended localities
1. It is prohibited for the Parties to the conflict to attack, by any means
whatsoever, non-defended localities.

2. The appropriate authorities of a Party to the conflict may declare as a nondefended
locality any inhabited place near or in a zone where armed forces are
in contact which is open for occupation by an adverse Party.
Such a locality shall fulfil the following conditions:
(a) all combatants, as well as mobile weapons and mobile military equipment
must have been evacuated;
(b) no hostile use shall be made of fixed military installations or
establishments;
(c) no acts of hostility shall be committed by the authorities or by the
population; and
(d) no activities in support of military operations shall be undertaken.

3. The presence, in this locality, of persons specially protected under the
Conventions and this Protocol, and of police forces retained for the sole
purpose of maintaining law and order, is not contrary to the conditions laid
down in paragraph 2.

4. The declaration made under paragraph 2 shall be addressed to the adverse
Party and shall define and describe, as precisely as possible, the limits of the
non-defended locality. The Party to the conflict to which the declaration is
addressed shall acknowledge its receipt and shall treat the locality as a nondefended
locality unless the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 are not in fact
fulfilled, in which event it shall immediately so inform the Party making the
declaration. Even if the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 are not fulfilled,
the locality shall continue to enjoy the protection provided by the other
provisions of this Protocol and the other rules of international law applicable in
armed conflict.

5. The Parties to the conflict may agree on the establishment of non-defended
localities even if such localities do not fulfil the conditions laid down in
paragraph 2. The agreement should define and describe, as precisely as
possible, the limits of the non-defended locality; if necessary, it may lay down
the methods of supervision.

6. The Party which is in control of a locality governed by such an agreement
shall mark it, so far as possible, by such signs as may be agreed upon with the
other Party, which shall be displayed where they are clearly visible, especially
on its perimeter and limits and on highways.

7. A locality loses its status as a non-defended locality when its ceases to fulfil
the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 or in the agreement referred to in
paragraph 5. In such an eventuality, the locality shall continue to enjoy the
protection provided by the other provisions of this Protocol and the other rules
of international law applicable in armed conflict.

Art 60. Demilitarized zones
1. It is prohibited for the Parties to the conflict to extend their military
operations to zones on which they have conferred by agreement the status of
demilitarized zone, if such extension is contrary to the terms of this
agreement.

2. The agreement shall be an express agreement, may be concluded verbally or
in writing, either directly or through a Protecting Power or any impartial
humanitarian organization, and may consist of reciprocal and concordant
declarations. The agreement may be concluded in peacetime, as well as after
the outbreak of hostilities, and should define and describe, as precisely as
possible, the limits of the demilitarized zone and, if necessary, lay down the
methods of supervision.

3. The subject of such an agreement shall normally be any zone which fulfils
the following conditions:
(a) all combatants, as well as mobile weapons and mobile military equipment,
must have been evacuated;
(b) no hostile use shall be made of fixed military installations or
establishments;
(c) no acts of hostility shall be committed by the authorities or by the
population; and
(d) any activity linked to the military effort must have ceased.
The Parties to the conflict shall agree upon the interpretation to be given to
the condition laid down in subparagraph (d) and upon persons to be admitted
to the demilitarized zone other than those mentioned in paragraph 4.

4. The presence, in this zone, of persons specially protected under the
Conventions and this Protocol, and of police forces retained for the sole
purpose of maintaining law and order, is not contrary to the conditions laid
down in paragraph 3.

5. The Party which is in control of such a zone shall mark it, so far as possible,
by such signs as may be agreed upon with the other Party, which shall be
displayed where they are clearly visible, especially on its perimeter and limits
and on highways.

6. If the fighting draws near to a demilitarized zone, and if the Parties to the
conflict have so agreed, none of them may use the zone for purposes related to
the conduct of military operations or unilaterally revoke its status.

7. If one of the Parties to the conflict commits a material breach of the
provisions of paragraphs 3 or 6, the other Party shall be released from its
obligations under the agreement conferring upon the zone the status of
demilitarized zone. In such an eventuality, the zone loses its status but shall
continue to enjoy the protection provided by the other provisions of this
Protocol and the other rules of international law applicable in armed conflict.

Chapter VI. Civil defence
Art 61. - Definitions and scope

For the purpose of this Protocol:
(1) "Civil defence" means the performance of some or all of the
undermentioned humanitarian tasks intended to protect the civilian population
against the dangers, and to help it to recover from the immediate effects, of
hostilities or disasters and also to provide the conditions necessary for its
survival. These tasks are:
(a) warning;
(b) evacuation;
(c) management of shelters;
(d) management of blackout measures;
(e) rescue;
(f) medical services, including first aid, and religious assistance;
(g) fire-fighting;
(h) detection and marking of danger areas;
(i) decontamination and similar protective measures;
(j) provision of emergency accommodation and supplies;
(k) emergency assistance in the restoration and maintenance of order in
distressed areas;
(l) emergency repair of indispensable public utilities;
(m) emergency disposal of the dead;
(n) assistance in the preservation of objects essential for survival;
(o) complementary activities necessary to carry out any of the tasks mentioned
above, including, but not limited to, planning and organization;

(2) "Civil defence organizations" means those establishments and other units
which are organized or authorized by the competent authorities of a Party to
the conflict to perform any of the tasks mentioned under (1), and which are
assigned and devoted exclusively to such tasks; (3) "Personnel" of civil defence
organizations means those persons assigned by a Party to the conflict
exclusively to the performance of the tasks mentioned under (1), including
personnel assigned by the competent authority of that Party exclusively to the
administration of these organizations;

(4) "Matériel" of civil defence organizations means equipment, supplies and
transports used by these organizations for the performance of the tasks
mentioned under (1).

Art 62. General protection
1. Civilian civil defence organizations and their personnel shall be respected
and protected, subject to the provisions of this Protocol, particularly the
provisions of this section. They shall be entitled to perform their civil defence
tasks except in case of imperative military necessity.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall also apply to civilians who, although not
members of civilian civil defence organizations, respond to an appeal from the
competent authorities and perform civil defence tasks under their control.

3. Buildings and matériel used for civil defence purposes and shelters provided
for the civilian population are covered by Article 52. Objects used for civil
defence purposes may not be destroyed or diverted from their proper use
except by the Party to which they belong.

Art 63. Civil defence in occupied territories
1. In occupied territories, civilian civil defence organizations shall receive from
the authorities the facilities necessary for the performance of their tasks. In no
Circumstances shall their personnel be compelled to perform activities which
would interfere with the proper performance of these tasks. The Occupying
Power shall not change the structure or personnel of such organizations in any
way which might jeopardize the efficient performance of their mission. These
organizations shall not be required to give priority to the nationals or interests
of that Power.

2. The Occupying Power shall not compel, coerce or induce civilian civil
defence organizations to perform their tasks in any manner prejudicial to the
interests of the civilian population.

3. The Occupying Power may disarm civil defence personnel for reasons of
security.

4. The Occupying Power shall neither divert from their proper use nor
requisition buildings or matériel belonging to or used by civil defence
organizations if such diversion or requisition would be harmful to the civilian
population.

5. Provided that the general rule in paragraph 4 continues to be observed, the
Occupying Power may requisition or divert these resources, subject to the
following particular conditions:
(a) that the buildings or matériel are necessary for other needs of the civilian
population; and
(b) that the requisition or diversion continues only while such necessity exists.

6. The Occupying Power shall neither divert nor requisition shelters provided
for the use of the civilian population or needed by such population.

Art 64. Civilian civil defence organizations of neutral or other States not
Parties to the conflict and international co-ordinating organizations
1. Articles 62, 63, 65 and 66 shall also apply to the personnel and matériel of
civilian civil defence organizations of neutral or other States not Parties to the
conflict which perform civil defence tasks mentioned in Article 61 in the
territory of a Party to the conflict, with the consent and under the control of
that Party. Notification of such assistance shall be given as soon as possible to
any adverse Party concerned. In no circumstances shall this activity be deemed
to be an interference in the conflict. This activity should, however, be
performed with due regard to the security interests of the Parties to the
conflict concerned.

2. The Parties to the conflict receiving the assistance referred to in paragraph
1 and the High Contracting Parties granting it should facilitate international coordination
of such civil defence actions when appropriate. In such cases the
relevant international organizations are covered by the provisions of this
Chapter.

3. In occupied territories, the Occupying Power may only exclude or restrict
the activities of civilian civil defence organizations of neutral or other States
not Parties to the conflict and of international co-ordinating organizations if it
can ensure the adequate performance of civil defence tasks from its own
resources or those of the occupied territory.

Art 65. Cessation of protection
1. The protection to which civilian civil defence organizations, their personnel,
buildings, shelters and matériel are entitled shall not cease unless they commit
or are used to commit, outside their proper tasks, acts harmful to the enemy.
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.

2. The following shall not be considered as acts harmful to the enemy:
(a) that civil defence tasks are carried out under the direction or control of
military authorities;
(b) that civilian civil defence personnel co-operate with military personnel in
the performance of civil defence tasks, or that some military personnel are
attached to civilian civil defence organizations;
(c) that the performance of civil defence tasks may incidentally benefit
military victims, particularly those who are hors de combat.

3. It shall also not be considered as an act harmful to the enemy that civilian
civil defence personnel bear light individual weapons for the purpose of
maintaining order or for self-defence. However, in areas where land fighting is
taking place or is likely to take place, the Parties to the conflict shall
undertake the appropriate measures to limit these weapons to handguns, such
as pistols or revolvers, in order to assist in distinguishing between civil defence
personnel and combatants. Although civil defence personnel bear other light
individual weapons in such areas, they shall nevertheless be respected and
protected as soon as they have been recognized as such.

4. The formation of civilian civil defence organizations along military lines, and
compulsory service in them, shall also not deprive them of the protection
conferred by this Chapter.

Art 66. Identification
1. Each Party to the conflict shall endeavour to ensure that its civil defence
organizations, their personnel, buildings and matériel are identifiable while
they are exclusively devoted to the performance of civil defence tasks. Shelters
provided for the civilian population should be similarly identifiable.

2. Each Party to the conflict shall also endeavour to adopt and implement
methods and procedures which will make it possible to recognize civilian
shelters as well as civil defence personnel, buildings and matériel on which the
international distinctive sign of civil defence is displayed.

3. In occupied territories and in areas where fighting is taking place or is likely
to take place, civilian civil defence personnel should be recognizable by the
international distinctive sign of civil defence and by an identity card certifying
their status.

4. The international distinctive sign of civil defence is an equilateral blue
triangle on an orange ground when used for the protection of civil defence
organizations, their personnel, buildings and matériel and for civilian shelters.

5. In addition to the distinctive sign, Parties to the conflict may agree upon the
use of distinctive signals for civil defence identification purposes.

6. The application of the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 4 is governed by Chapter
V of Annex I to this Protocol.

7. In time of peace, the sign described in paragraph 4 may, with the consent of
the competent national authorities, be used for civil defence identification
purposes.

8. The High Contracting Parties and the Parties to the conflict shall take the
measures necessary to supervise the display of the international distinctive sign
of civil defence and to prevent and repress any misuse thereof.

9. The identification of civil defence medical and religious personnel, medical
units and medical transports is also governed by Article 18.

Art 67. Members of the armed forces and military units assigned to civil
defence organizations
1. Members of the armed forces and military units assigned to civil defence
organizations shall be respected and protected, provided that:
(a) such personnel and such units are permanently assigned and exclusively
devoted to the performance of any of the tasks mentioned in Article 61;
(b) if so assigned, such personnel do not perform any other military duties
during the conflict;
(c) such personnel are clearly distinguishable from the other members of the
armed forces by prominently displaying the international distinctive sign of
civil defence, which shall be as large as appropriate, and such personnel are
provided with the identity card referred to in Chapter V of Annex I to this
Protocol certifying their status;
(d) such personnel and such units are equipped only with light individual
weapons for the purpose of maintaining order or for self-defence. The
provisions of Article 65, paragraph 3 shall also apply in this case;
(e) such personnel do not participate directly in hostilities, and do not commit,
or are not used to commit, outside their civil defence tasks, acts harmful to
the adverse Party
(f) such personnel and such units perform their civil defence tasks only within
the national territory of their Party.
The non-observance of the conditions stated in (e) above by any member of the
armed forces who is bound by the conditions prescribed in (a) and (b) above is
prohibited.

2. Military personnel serving within civil defence organizations shall, if they fall
into the power of an adverse Party, be prisoners of war. In occupied territory
they may, but only in the interest of the civilian population of that territory,
be employed on civil defence tasks in so far as the need arises, provided
however that, if such work is dangerous, they volunteer for such tasks.

3. The buildings and major items of equipment and transports of military units
assigned to civil defence organizations shall be clearly marked with the
international distinctive sign of civil defence. This distinctive sign shall be as
large as appropriate.

4. The matériel and buildings of military units permanently assigned to civil
defence organizations and exclusively devoted to the performance of civil
defence tasks shall, if they fall into the hands of an adverse Party, remain
subject to the laws of war. They may not be diverted from their civil defence
purpose so long as they are required for the performance of civil defence tasks,
except in case of imperative military necessity, unless previous arrangements
have been made for adequate provision for the needs of the civilian
population.

Section II. Relief in Favour of the Civilian Population

Art 68. Field of application

The provisions of this Section apply to the civilian population as defined in this
Protocol and are supplementary to Articles 23, 55, 59, 60, 61 and 62 and other
relevant provisions of the Fourth Convention.

Art 69. Basic needs in occupied territories
1. In addition to the duties specified in Article 55 of the Fourth Convention
concerning food and medical supplies, the Occupying Power shall, to the fullest
extent of the means available to it and without any adverse distinction, also
ensure the provision of clothing, bedding, means of shelter, other supplies
essential to the survival of the civilian population of the occupied territory and
objects necessary for religious worship.

2. Relief actions for the benefit of the civilian population of occupied
territories are governed by Articles 59, 60, 61, 62, 108, 109, 110 and 111 of the
Fourth Convention, and by Article 71 of this Protocol, and shall be
implemented without delay.

Art 70. Relief actions
1. If the civilian population of any territory under the control of a Party to the
conflict, other than occupied territory, is not adequately provided with the
supplies mentioned in Article 69, relief actions which are humanitarian and
impartial in character and conducted without any adverse distinction shall be
undertaken, subject to the agreement of the Parties concerned in such relief
actions. Offers of such relief shall not be regarded as interference in the armed
conflict or as unfriendly acts. In the distribution of relief consignments, priority
shall be given to those persons, such as children, expectant mothers, maternity
cases and nursing mothers, who, under the Fourth Convention or under this
Protocol, are to be accorded privileged treatment or special protection.

2. The Parties to the conflict and each High Contracting Party shall allow and
facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of all relief consignments, equipment
and personnel provided in accordance with this Section, even if such assistance
is destined for the civilian population of the adverse Party.

3. The Parties to the conflict and each High Contracting Party which allows the
passage of relief consignments, equipment and personnel in accordance with
paragraph 2:
(a) shall have the right to prescribe the technical arrangements, including
search, under which such passage is permitted;
(b) may make such permission conditional on the distribution of this assistance
being made under the local supervision of a Protecting Power;
(c) shall, in no way whatsoever, divert relief consignments from the purpose
for which they are intended nor delay their forwarding, except in cases of
urgent necessity in the interest of the civilian population concerned.

4. The Parties to the conflict shall protect relief consignments and facilitate
their rapid distribution.

5. The Parties to the conflict and each High Contracting Party concerned shall
encourage and facilitate effective international co-ordination of the relief
actions referred to in paragraph 1.

Art 71. Personnel participating in relief actions
1. Where necessary, relief personnel may form part of the assistance provided
in any relief action, in particular for the transportation and distribution of
relief consignments; the participation of such personnel shall be subject to the
approval of the Party in whose territory they will carry out their duties.
2. Such personnel shall be respected and protected.

3. Each Party in receipt of relief consignments shall, to the fullest extent
practicable, assist the relief personnel referred to in paragraph 1 in carrying
out their relief mission. Only in case of imperative military necessity may the
activities of the relief personnel be limited or their movements temporarily
restricted.

4. Under no circumstances may relief personnel exceed the terms of their
mission under this Protocol. In particular they shall take account of the security
requirements of the Party in whose territory they are carrying out their duties.
The mission of any of the personnel who do not respect these conditions may
be terminated.

Section III. Treatment of Persons in the Power of a Party to the
Conflict

Chapter I. Field of application and protection of persons and objects

Art 72. Field of application
The provisions of this Section are additional to the rules concerning
humanitarian protection of civilians and civilian objects in the power of a Party
to the conflict contained in the Fourth Convention, particularly Parts I and III
thereof, as well as to other applicable rules of international law relating to the
protection of fundamental human rights during international armed conflict.

Art 73. Refugees and stateless persons
Persons who, before the beginning of hostilities, were considered as stateless
persons or refugees under the relevant international instruments accepted by
the Parties concerned or under the national legislation of the State of refuge or
State of residence shall be protected persons within the meaning of Parts I and
III of the Fourth Convention, in all circumstances and without any adverse
distinction.

Art 74. Reunion of dispersed families
The High Contracting Parties and the Parties to the conflict shall facilitate in
every possible way the reunion of families dispersed as a result of armed
conflicts and shall encourage in particular the work of the humanitarian
organizations engaged in this task in accordance with the provisions of the
Conventions and of this Protocol and in conformity with their respective
security regulations.

Art 75. Fundamental guarantees
1. In so far as they are affected by a situation referred to in Article 1 of this
Protocol, persons who are in the power of a Party to the conflict and who do
not benefit from more favourable treatment under the Conventions or under
this Protocol shall be treated humanely in all circumstances and shall enjoy, as
a minimum, the protection provided by this Article without any adverse
distinction based upon 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. Each Party shall respect the person, honour,
convictions and religious practices of all such persons.

2. The following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any
place whatsoever, whether committed by civilian or by military agents:
(a) violence to the life, health, or physical or mental well-being of persons, in
particular:
(i) murder;
(ii) torture of all kinds, whether physical or mental;
(iii) corporal punishment; and
(iv) mutilation;
(b) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading
treatment, enforced prostitution and any form of indecent assault;
(c) the taking of hostages;
(d) collective punishments; and
(e) threats to commit any of the foregoing acts.

3. Any person arrested, detained or interned for actions related to the armed
conflict shall be informed promptly, in a language he understands, of the
reasons why these measures have been taken. Except in cases of arrest or
detention for penal offences, such persons shall be released with the minimum
delay possible and in any event as soon as the circumstances justifying the
arrest, detention or internment have ceased to exist.

4. No sentence may be passed and no penalty may be executed on a person
found guilty of a penal offence related to the armed conflict except pursuant
to a conviction pronounced by an impartial and regularly constituted court
respecting the generally recognized principles of regular judicial procedure,
which include the following:
(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 accused or convicted of a criminal offence on account or
any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under the
national or international law to which he was subject 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;
(g) anyone charged with an offence shall have the right to examine, or have
examined, the witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and
examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses
against him;
(h) no one shall be prosecuted or punished by the same Party for an offence in
respect of which a final judgement acquitting or convicting that person has
been previously pronounced under the same law and judicial procedure;
(i) anyone prosecuted for an offence shall have the right to have the
judgement pronounced publicly; and
(j) a convicted person shall be advised on conviction or his judicial and other
remedies and of the time-limits within which they may be exercised.

5. Women whose liberty has been restricted for reasons related to the armed
conflict shall be held in quarters separated from men's quarters. They shall be
under the immediate supervision of women. Nevertheless, in cases where
families are detained or interned, they shall, whenever possible, be held in the
same place and accommodated as family units.

6. Persons who are arrested, detained or interned for reasons related to the
armed conflict shall enjoy the protection provided by this Article until their
final release, repatriation or re-establishment, even after the end of the armed
conflict.

7. In order to avoid any doubt concerning the prosecution and trial of persons
accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity, the following principles
shall apply:
(a) persons who are accused or such crimes should be submitted for the
purpose of prosecution and trial in accordance with the applicable rules of
international law; and
(b) any such persons who do not benefit from more favourable treatment under
the Conventions or this Protocol shall be accorded the treatment provided by
this Article, whether or not the crimes of which they are accused constitute
grave breaches of the Conventions or of this Protocol.

8. No provision of this Article may be construed as limiting or infringing any
other more favourable provision granting greater protection, under any
applicable rules of international law, to persons covered by paragraph 1

Chapter II. Measures in favour of women and children

Art 76. Protection of women
1. Women shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected in
particular against rape, forced prostitution and any other form of indecent
assault.

2. Pregnant women and mothers having dependent infants who are arrested,
detained or interned for reasons related to the armed conflict, shall have their
cases considered with the utmost priority.

3. To the maximum extent feasible, the Parties to the conflict shall endeavour
to avoid the pronouncement of the death penalty on pregnant women or
mothers having dependent infants, for an offence related to the armed
conflict. The death penalty for such offences shall not be executed on such
women.

Art 77. Protection of children
1. Children shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected against
any form of indecent assault. The Parties to the conflict shall provide them
with the care and aid they require, whether because of their age or for any
other reason.

2. The Parties to the conflict shall take all feasible measures in order that
children who have not attained the age of fifteen years do not take a direct
part in hostilities and, in particular, they shall refrain from recruiting them into
their armed forces. In recruiting among those persons who have attained the
age of fifteen years but who have not attained the age of eighteen years the
Parties to the conflict shall endeavour to give priority to those who are oldest.

3. If, in exceptional cases, despite the provisions of paragraph 2, children who
have not attained the age of fifteen years take a direct part in hostilities and
fall into the power of an adverse Party, they shall continue to benefit from the
special protection accorded by this Article, whether or not they are prisoners
of war.

4. If arrested, detained or interned for reasons related to the armed conflict,
children shall be held in quarters separate from the quarters of adults, except
where families are accommodated as family units as provided in Article 75,
paragraph 5.

5 . The death penalty for an offence related to the armed conflict shall not be
executed on persons who had not attained the age of eighteen years at the
time the offence was committed.

Art 78. Evacuation of children
1. No Party to the conflict shall arrange for the evacuation of children, other
than its own nationals, to a foreign country except for a temporary evacuation
where compelling reasons of the health or medical treatment of the children
or, except in occupied territory, their safety, so require. Where the parents or
legal guardians can be found, their written consent to such evacuation is
required. If these persons cannot be found, the written consent to such
evacuation of the persons who by law or custom are primarily responsible for
the care of the children is required. Any such evacuation shall be supervised by
the Protecting Power in agreement with the Parties concerned, namely, the
Party arranging for the evacuation, the Party receiving the children and any
Parties whose nationals are being evacuated. In each case, all Parties to the
conflict shall take all feasible precautions to avoid endangering the evacuation.

2. Whenever an evacuation occurs pursuant to paragraph 1, each child's
education, including his religious and moral education as his parents desire,
shall be provided while he is away with the greatest possible continuity.

3. With a view to facilitating the return to their families and country of
children evacuated pursuant to this Article, the authorities of the Party
arranging for the evacuation and, as appropriate, the authorities of the
receiving country shall establish for each child a card with photographs, which
they shall send to the Central Tracing Agency of the International Committee
of the Red Cross. Each card shall bear, whenever possible, and whenever it
involves no risk of harm to the child, the following information:
(a) surname(s) of the child;
(b) the child's first name(s);
(c) the child's sex;
(d) the place and date of birth (or, if that date is not known, the approximate
age);
(e) the father's full name;
(f) the mother's full name and her maiden name;
(g) the child's next-of-kin;
(h) the child's nationality;
(i) the child's native language, and any other languages he speaks;
(j) the address of the child's family;
(k) any identification number for the child;
(l) the child's state of health;
(m) the child's blood group;
(n) any distinguishing features;
(o) the date on which and the place where the child was found;
(p) the date on which and the place from which the child left the country;
(q) the child's religion, if any;
(r) the child's present address in the receiving country;
(s) should the child die before his return, the date, place and circumstances of
death and place of interment.

Chapter III. Journalists

Art 79. Measures or protection for journalists
1. Journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed
conflict shall be considered as civilians within the meaning of Article 50,
paragraph 1.

2. They shall be protected as such under the Conventions and this Protocol,
provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,
and without prejudice to the right of war correspondents accredited to the
armed forces to the status provided for in Article 4 (A) (4) of the Third
Convention.

3. They may obtain an identity card similar to the model in Annex II of this
Protocol. This card, which shall be issued by the government of the State of
which the Journalist is a national or in whose territory he resides or in which
the news medium employing him is located, shall attest to his status as a
journalist.

Part V. Execution of the Conventions and of its Protocols

Section I. General Provisions

Art 80. Measures for execution
1. The High Contracting Parties and the Parties to the conflict shall without
delay take all necessary measures for the execution of their obligations under
the Conventions and this Protocol.

2. The High Contracting Parties and the Parties to the conflict shall give orders
and instructions to ensure observance of the Conventions and this Protocol, and
shall supervise their execution.

Art 81. Activities of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations
1. The Parties to the conflict shall grant to the International Committee of the
Red Cross all facilities, within their power so as to enable it to carry out the
humanitarian functions assigned to it by the Conventions and this Protocol in
order to ensure protection and assistance to the victims of conflicts; the
International Committee of the Red Cross may also carry out any other
humanitarian activities in favour of these victims, subject to the consent of the
Parties to the conflict concerned.

2. The Parties to the conflict shall grant to their respective Red Cross (Red
Crescent, Red Lion and Sun) organizations the facilities necessary for carrying
out their humanitarian activities in favour of the victims of the conflict, in
accordance with the provisions of the Conventions and this Protocol and the
fundamental principles of the Red Cross as formulated by the International
Conferences of the Red Cross.

3. The High Contracting Parties and the Parties to the conflict shall facilitate in
every possible way the assistance which Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and
Sun) organizations and the League of Red Cross Societies extend to the victims
of conflicts in accordance with the provisions of the Conventions and this
Protocol and with the fundamental principles of the red Cross as formulated by
the International Conferences of the Red Cross.

4. The High Contracting Parties and the Parties to the conflict shall, as far as
possible, make facilities similar to those mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 3
available to the other humanitarian organizations referred to in the
Conventions and this Protocol which are duly authorized by the respective
Parties to the conflict and which perform their humanitarian activities in
accordance with the provisions of the Conventions and this Protocol.

Art 82. Legal advisers in armed forces
The High Contracting Parties at all times, and the Parties to the conflict in
time of armed conflict, shall ensure that legal advisers are available, when
necessary, to advise military commanders at the appropriate level on the
application of the Conventions and this Protocol and on the appropriate
instruction to be given to the armed forces on this subject.

Art 83. Dissemination
1. The High Contracting Parties undertake, in time of peace as in time of
armed conflict, to disseminate the Conventions and this Protocol as widely as
possible in their respective countries and, in particular, to include the study
thereof in their programmes of military instruction and to encourage the study
thereof by the civilian population, so that those instruments may become
known to the armed forces and to the civilian population.

2. Any military or civilian authorities who, in time of armed conflict, assume
responsibilities in respect of the application of the Conventions and this
Protocol shall be fully acquainted with the text thereof.

Art 84. Rules of application
The High Contracting Parties shall communicate to one another, as soon as
possible, through the depositary and, as appropriate, through the Protecting
Powers, their official translations of this Protocol, as well as the laws and
regulations which they may adopt to ensure its application.

Section II. Repression of Breaches of the Conventions and of this Protocol

Article 85 - Repression of breaches of this Protocol
1. The provisions of the Conventions relating to the repression of breaches and
grave breaches, supplemented by this Section, shall apply to the repression of
breaches and grave breaches of this Protocol.

2. Acts described as grave breaches in the Conventions are grave breaches of
this Protocol if committed against persons in the power of an adverse Party
protected by Articles 44, 45 and 73 of this Protocol, or against the wounded,
sick and shipwrecked of the adverse Party who are protected by this Protocol,
or against those medical or religious personnel, medical units or medical
transports which are under the control of the adverse Party and are protected
by this Protocol.

3. In addition to the grave breaches defined in Article 11, the following acts
shall be regarded as grave breaches of this Protocol, when committed wilfully,
in violation of the relevant provisions of this Protocol, and causing death or
serious injury to body or health:
(a) making the civilian population or individual civilians the object of attack;
(b) launching an indiscriminate attack affecting the civilian population or
civilian objects in the knowledge that such attack will cause excessive loss of
life, injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects, as defined in Article 57,
paragraph 2 (a)(iii);
(c) launching an attack against works or installations containing dangerous
forces in the knowledge that such attack will cause excessive loss of life, injury
to civilians or damage to civilian objects, as defined in Article 57, paragraph 2
(a)(iii);
(d) making non-defended localities and demilitarized zones the object of
attack;
(e) making a person the object of attack in the knowledge that he is hors de
combat;
(f) the perfidious use, in violation of Article 37, of the distinctive emblem of
the red cross, red crescent or red lion and sun or of other protective signs
recognized by the Conventions or this Protocol.

4. In addition to the grave breaches defined in the preceding paragraphs and in
the Conventions, the following shall be regarded as grave breaches of this
Protocol, when committed wilfully and in violation of the Conventions or the
Protocol:
(a) the transfer by the occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population
into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of
the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory, in
violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Convention;
(b) unjustifiable delay in the repatriation of prisoners of war or civilians;
(c) practices of apartheid and other inhuman and degrading practices involving
outrages upon personal dignity, based on racial discrimination;
(d) making the clearly-recognized historic monuments, works of art or places of
worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples and to
which special protection has been given by special arrangement, for example,
within the framework of a competent international organization, the object of
attack, causing as a result extensive destruction thereof, where there is no
evidence of the violation by the adverse Party of Article 53, subparagraph (b),
and when such historic monuments, works of art and places of worship are not
located in the immediate proximity of military objectives;
(e) depriving a person protected by the Conventions or referred to in paragraph
2 of this Article of the rights of fair and regular trial.

5. Without prejudice to the application of the Conventions and of this Protocol,
grave breaches of these instruments shall be regarded as war crimes.

Art 86. Failure to act
1. The High Contracting Parties and the Parties to the conflict shall repress
grave breaches, and take measures necessary to suppress all other breaches, of
the Conventions or of this Protocol which result from a failure to act when
under a duty to do so.

2. The fact that a breach of the Conventions or of this Protocol was committed
by a subordinate does not absolve his superiors from penal or disciplinary
responsibility, as the case may be, if they knew, or had information which
should have enabled them to conclude in the circumstances at the time, that
he was committing or was going to commit such a breach and if they did not
take all feasible measures within their power to prevent or repress the breach.

Art 87. Duty of commanders
1. The High Contracting Parties and the Parties to the conflict shall require
military commanders, with respect to members of the armed forces under their
command and other persons under their control, to prevent and, where
necessary, to suppress and to report to competent authorities breaches of the
Conventions and of this Protocol.

2. In order to prevent and suppress breaches, High Contracting Parties and
Parties to the conflict shall require that, commensurate with their level of
responsibility, commanders ensure that members of the armed forces under
their command are aware of their obligations under the Conventions and this
Protocol.

3. The High Contracting Parties and Parties to the conflict shall require any
commander who is aware that subordinates or other persons under his control
are going to commit or have committed a breach of the Conventions or of this
Protocol, to initiate such steps as are necessary to prevent such violations of
the Conventions or this Protocol, and, where appropriate, to initiate
disciplinary or penal action against violators thereof.

Art 88. Mutual assistance in criminal matters
1. The High Contracting Parties shall afford one another the greatest measure
of assistance in connexion with criminal proceedings brought in respect of
grave breaches of the Conventions or of this Protocol.

2. Subject to the rights and obligations established in the Conventions and in
Article 85, paragraph 1 of this Protocol, and when circumstances permit, the
High Contracting Parties shall co-operate in the matter of extradition. They
shall give due consideration to the request of the State in whose territory the
alleged offence has occurred.

3. The law of the High Contracting Party requested shall apply in all cases. The
provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall not, however, affect the
obligations arising from the provisions of any other treaty of a bilateral or
multilateral nature which governs or will govern the whole or part of the
subject of mutual assistance in criminal matters.

Art 89. Co-operation
In situations of serious violations or the Conventions or of this Protocol, the
High Contracting Parties undertake to act jointly or individually, in cooperation
with the United Nations and in conformity with the United Nations
Charter.

Art 90. International Fact-Finding Commission
1. (a) An International Fact-Finding Commission (hereinafter referred to as "the
Commission") consisting of 15 members of high moral standing and
acknowledged impartiality shall be established;
(b) When not less than 20 High Contracting Parties have agreed to accept the
competence of the Commission pursuant to paragraph 2, the depositary shall
then, and at intervals of five years thereafter, convene a meeting of
representatives of those High Contracting Parties for the purpose of electing
the members of the Commission. At the meeting, the representatives shall
elect the members of the Commission by secret ballot from a list of persons to
which each of those High Contracting Parties may nominate one person;
(c) The members of the Commission shall serve in their personal capacity and
shall hold office until the election of new members at the ensuing meeting;
(d) At the election, the High Contracting Parties shall ensure that the persons
to be elected to the Commission individually possess the qualifications required
and that, in the Commission as a whole, equitable geographical representation
is assured;
(e) In the case of a casual vacancy, the Commission itself shall fill the vacancy,
having due regard to the provisions of the preceding subparagraphs;
(f) The depositary shall make available to the Commission the necessary
administrative facilities for the performance of its functions.

2. (a) The High Contracting Parties may at the time of signing, ratifying or
acceding to the Protocol, or at any other subsequent time, declare that they
recognize ipso facto and without special agreement, in relation to any other
High Contracting Party accepting the same obligation, the competence of the
Commission to inquire into allegations by such other Party, as authorized by
this Article;
(b) The declarations referred to above shall be deposited with the depositary,
which shall transmit copies thereof to the High Contracting Parties;
(c) The Commission shall be competent to:
(i) inquire into any facts alleged to be a grave breach as defined in the
Conventions and this Protocol or other serious violation of the Conventions or
of this Protocol;
(ii) facilitate, through its good offices, the restoration of an attitude of respect
for the Conventions and this Protocol;
(d) In other situations, the Commission shall institute an inquiry at the request
of a Party to the conflict only with the consent of the other Party or Parties
concerned;
(e) Subject to the foregoing provisions or this paragraph, the provisions of
Article 52 of the First Convention, Article 53 of the Second Convention, Article
132 or the Third Convention and Article 149 of the Fourth Convention shall
continue to apply to any alleged violation of the Conventions and shall extend
to any alleged violation of this Protocol.

3. (a) Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties concerned, all inquiries shall be
undertaken by a Chamber consisting of seven members appointed as follows:
(i) five members of the Commission, not nationals of any Party to the conflict,
appointed by the President of the Commission on the basis of equitable
representation of the geographical areas, after consultation with the Parties to
the conflict;
(ii) two ad hoc members, not nationals of any Party to the conflict, one to be
appointed by each side;
(b) Upon receipt of the request for an inquiry, the President of the Commission
shall specify an appropriate time-limit for setting up a Chamber. If any ad hoc
member has not been appointed within the time-limit, the President shall
immediately appoint such additional member or members of the Commission as
may be necessary to complete the membership of the Chamber.

4. (a) The Chamber set up under paragraph 3 to undertake an inquiry shall
invite the Parties to the conflict to assist it and to present evidence. The
Chamber may also seek such other evidence as it deems appropriate and may
carry out an investigation of the situation in loco;
(b) All evidence shall be fully disclosed to the Parties, which shall have the
right to comment on it to the Commission;
(c) Each Party shall have the right to challenge such evidence.

5. (a) The Commission shall submit to the Parties a report on the findings of
fact of the Chamber, with such recommendations as it may deem appropriate;
(b) If the Chamber is unable to secure sufficient evidence for factual and
impartial findings, the Commission shall state the reasons for that inability;
(c) The Commission shall not report its findings publicly, unless all the Parties
to the conflict have requested the Commission to do so.

6. The Commission shall establish its own rules, including rules for the
presidency or the Commission and the presidency of the Chamber. Those rules
shall ensure that the functions of the President of the Commission are
exercised at all times and that, in the case of an inquiry, they are exercised by
a person who is not a national of a Party to the conflict.

7. The administrative expenses of the Commission shall be met by contributions
from the High Contracting Parties which made declarations under paragraph 2,
and by voluntary contributions. The Party or Parties to the conflict requesting
an inquiry shall advance the necessary funds for expenses incurred by a
Chamber and shall be reimbursed by the Party or Parties against which the
allegations are made to the extent of 50 per cent of the costs of the Chamber.
Where there are counter-allegations before the Chamber each side shall
advance 50 per cent of the necessary funds.

Art 91. Responsibility
A Party to the conflict which violates the provisions of the Conventions or of
this Protocol shall, if the case demands, be liable to pay compensation. It shall
be responsible for all acts committed by persons forming part of its armed
forces.

Part IV. Final Resolutions

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 or
twelve months.

Art 93. 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.

Art 94. 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.

Art 95.- 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.

Art 96. Treaty relations upon entry into force or this Protocol
1. When the Parties to the Conventions are also Parties to this Protocol, the
Conventions shall apply as supplemented by this Protocol.

2. When one of the Parties to the conflict is not bound by this Protocol, the
Parties to the Protocol shall remain bound by it in their mutual relations. They
shall furthermore be bound by this Protocol in relation to each of the Parties
which are not bound by it, if the latter accepts and applies the provisions
thereof.

3. The authority representing a people engaged against a High Contracting
Party in an armed conflict of the type referred to in Article 1, paragraph 4,
may undertake to apply the Conventions and this Protocol in relation to that
conflict by means of a unilateral declaration addressed to the depositary. Such
declaration shall, upon its receipt by the depositary, have in relation to that
conflict the following effects:
(a) the Conventions and this Protocol are brought into force for the said
authority as a Party to the conflict with immediate effect;
(b) the said authority assumes the same rights and obligations as those which
have been assumed by a High Contracting Party to the Conventions and this
Protocol; and
(c) the Conventions and this Protocol are equally binding upon all Parties to the
conflict.

Art 97. 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 or this Protocol.

Art 98. Revision of Annex I
1. Not later than four years after the entry into force of this Protocol and
thereafter at intervals of not less than four years, the International Committee
of the Red Cross shall consult the High Contracting Parties concerning Annex I
to this Protocol and, if it considers it necessary, may propose a meeting of
technical experts to review Annex I and to propose such amendments to it as
may appear to be desirable. Unless, within six months of the communication of
a proposal for such a meeting to the High Contracting Parties, one third of
them object, the International Committee of the Red Cross shall convene the
meeting, inviting also observers of appropriate international organizations.
Such a meeting shall also be convened by the International Committee of the
Red Cross at any time at the request of one third of the High Contracting
Parties.

2. The depositary shall convene a conference of the High Contracting Parties
and the Parties to the Conventions to consider amendments proposed by the
meeting of technical experts if, after that meeting, the International
Committee of the Red Cross or one third of the High Contracting Parties so
request.

3. Amendments to Annex I may be adopted at such a conference by a twothirds
majority of the High Contracting Parties present and voting.

4. The depositary shall communicate any amendment so adopted to the High
Contracting Parties and to the Parties to the Conventions. The amendment
shall be considered to have been accepted at the end of a period of one year
after it has been so communicated, unless within that period a declaration of
non-acceptance of the amendment has been communicated to the depositary
by not less than one third of the High Contracting Parties.

5. An amendment considered to have been accepted in accordance with
paragraph 4 shall enter into force three months after its acceptance for all
High Contracting Parties other than those which have made a declaration of
non-acceptance in accordance with that paragraph. Any Party making such a
declaration may at any time withdraw it and the amendment shall then enter
into force for that Party three months thereafter.

6. The depositary shall notify the High Contracting Parties and the Parties to
the Conventions of the entry into force of any amendment, of the Parties
bound thereby, of the date of its entry into force in relation to each Party, of
declarations of non-acceptance made in accordance with paragraph 4, and of
withdrawals of such declarations.

Article 99 - Denunciation
1. In case a High Contracting Party should denounce this Protocol, the
denunciation shall only take effect one year after receipt of the instrument of
denunciation. If, however, on the expiry of that year the denouncing Party is
engaged in one of the situations referred to in Article I, the denunciation shall
not take effect before the end of the armed conflict or occupation and not, in
any case, before operations connected with the final release, repatriation or
re-establishment of the persons protected by the Convention or this Protocol
have been terminated.

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

3. The denunciation shall have effect only in respect of the denouncing Party.
4. Any denunciation under paragraph 1 shall not affect the obligations already
incurred, by reason of the armed conflict, under this Protocol by such
denouncing Party in respect of any act committed before this denunciation
becomes effective.

Article 100 - 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 93 and 94;
(b) the date of entry into force of this Protocol under Article 95;
(c) communications and declarations received under Articles 84, 90 and 97;
(d) declarations received under Article 96, paragraph 3, which shall be
communicated by the quickest methods; and
(e) denunciations under Article 99.

Art 101. 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.

Art 102. 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.

ANNEX I AS AMENDED ON 30 NOVEMBER 1993: REGULATIONS CONCERNING
IDENTIFICATION
(This Annex replaces the former Annex I)

Related Articles:

• Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), 8 June 1977. 29 Jan 2010