Wounded, Sick, and Shipwrecked

All wounded, sick, and shipwrecked to

which ever party they belong shall be
respected and protected.
International Committee of the Red Cross
Table of Contents
I. Birth and Evolution of the Concept
1. Wounded, Sick, and Shipwrecked
2. Story of Henry Dunant (1859)
3. First Geneva Convention (1864)
Protection of the Wounded and Sick
4. Second Geneva Convention (1906)
Extended the protection to the Shipwrecked
5. Protocol I of 1977
6. Protocol II of 1977
II. The Concept Today
1. Definition of Wounded, Sick, and Shipwrecked
2. Protection Afforded in each Circumstance
3. Exceptional Instances
III. The Concept in Application to Cases
IV. Commentary and Trivia
V. Glossary



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.
(Par. a, Article 8, Protocol I)

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.
(Par. b, Article 8, Protocol I)
The History of the Concept
Henry Dunant
Battle of Solferino in 1859.
His horror at the suffering of the sick and
wounded led him
a. to publish A Memoir of Solferino and
b. mobilize a group of colleagues to press for
international action
SPECIFICALLY, he was shocked by the lack of
facilities, personnel, and medical aid available to
help these soldiers
1949 First Geneva Convention
Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field. Geneva, 22 August 1864
The Swiss Federal Council, on the initiative of the Geneva Committee, invited the governments of all European and several American
states to a diplomatic conference for the purpose of adopting a convention for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded in
war.
The main principles laid down in the Convention and maintained by the later Geneva Conventions are:
- relief to the wounded without any distinction as to nationality;
- neutrality (inviolability) of medical personnel and medical establishments and units;
- the distinctive sign of the red cross on a white ground.
Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field. Geneva, 6 July
1906.
With 33 articles divided into eight chapters, the Convention of 1906 is more detailed and more precise in its terminology than the
Convention of 1864. New provisions were included concerning the burial of the dead and the transmission of information. The
voluntary aid societies were for the first time expressly recognized. On the other hand, provisions which had proved to be
impracticable were changed. The prerogatives of the inhabitants bringing help to the wounded were reduced to more reasonable
proportions, and the duty to repatriate the wounded who are unfit for further service was transformed into a mere recommendation.
The Convention of 1906 was replaced by the Geneva Convention of 1929, but remained in force until 1970, when the last State party
to it which had not yet adhered to one of the later Conventions (Costa Rica) acceded to the Conventions of 1949.
Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 27 July 1929.
In 1921, the International Red Cross Conference held at Geneva expressed the wish that a special convention on the treatment of
prisoners of war be adopted. The Convention does not replace but only completes the provisions of the Hague regulations. The most
important innovations consisted in the prohibition of reprisals and collective penalties, the organization of prisoners work, the
designation, by the prisoners, of representatives and the control exercised by protecting Powers.
The 1929 Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was replaced by the third Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949
(Geneva Convention III). It is no longer in operation following the universal acceptance of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field. Geneva,
12 August 1949.
This Convention represents the fourth version of the Geneva Convention on the wounded and sick after those adopted in 1864, 1906
and 1929. The fundamental principles as well as the division into chapters remained the same as in the preceding version with the
exception of the new introductory chapter on general provisions. Changes were made especially in Chapter IV (personnel). Hitherto,
medical personnel and chaplains falling into enemy hands had to be immediately repatriated. The 1949 Convention, taking account of
changed conditions of warfare, provides that they may in certain circumstances be retained to care for prisoners of war. The
provisions on medical equipment were correspondingly altered. In the chapter on medical transports it was provided that medical
aircraft may in certain circumstances fly over neutral territory. Some clarifications were made as regards the article on the use of the
emblem (Article 44).
First Geneva Convention
Protection of the wounded and sick was the
FOUNDING principle of the first Geneva Convention
(1864).
It remained the core of IHL as it extended to other
aspects of the conduct of war such as those who are
shipwrecked which is now consolidated in the Geneva
Conventions of 1949, three Additional Protocols, and a
series of other treaties
Full Name: The Geneva Convention for the
Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and
Sick in Armed Forces in the Field (1949)
12 States Ratified
International Committee of the Red Cross was formed
First Geneva Convention
Pertinent Provisions of the 1864 Convention
Art. 1- Ambulances and military hospitals shall be
recognized as neutral, and as such, protected and
respected by the belligerents as long as they
accommodate wounded and sick.
Neutrality shall end if the said ambulances or hospitals
should be held by a military force.
Art. 4. The material of military hospitals being subject
to the laws of war, the persons attached to such
hospitals may take with them, on withdrawing, only
the articles which are their own personal property.
Ambulances, on the contrary, under similar
circumstances, shall retain their equipment.
First Geneva Convention
Article 6 Wounded or sick combatants, to whatever
nation they may belong, shall be collected and cared for.
Commanders-in-Chief may hand over immediately to the
enemy outposts enemy combatants wounded during an
engagement, when circumstances allow and subject to the
agreement of both parties.
Those who, after their recovery, are recognized as being
unfit for further service, shall be repatriated.
The others may likewise be sent back, on condition that
they shall not again, for the duration of hostilities, take up
arms.
Evacuation parties, and the personnel conducting them,
shall be considered as being absolutely neutral.