Second Geneva

Convention

The Second Geneva Convention for the

Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded,
Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed
Forces at Sea is one of the four treaties of
the Geneva Conventions.[1] The Geneva
Convention for the Amelioration of the
Condition of Wounded, Sick and
Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at
Sea was first adopted in 1949, replacing
the Hague Convention (X) of 1907.[2] It
adapts the main protective regime of the
First Geneva Convention to combat at
sea.[3]

Hospital ship USNS Mercy of the United

States Navy
Summary of provisions

Parties to Geneva Conventions and Protocols

Parties to GC I–IV and P I–III Parties to GC I–IV and P I–II

Parties to GC I–IV and P I and III Parties to GC I–IV and P I
Parties to GC I–IV and P III Parties to GC I–IV and no P

The treaty is a lengthy document

consisting of 63 articles. The most
essential provisions of the treaty are:

Articles 12 and 18 requires all parties to

protect and care for the wounded, sick,
and shipwrecked.
Article 14 clarifies that although a
warship cannot capture a hospital ship's
medical staff, it can hold the wounded,
sick, and shipwrecked as prisoners of
war.
Article 21 allows appeals to be made to
neutral vessels to help collect and care
for the wounded, sick, and shipwrecked.
The neutral vessels cannot be captured.
Articles 36 and 37 protect religious and
medical personnel serving on a combat
ship.
Article 22 states that hospital ships
cannot be used for any military purpose,
and owing to their humanitarian
 mission, they cannot be attacked or
captured.

For a detailed discussion of each article of

the treaty, see the original text[4] and the
commentary.[5] There are currently 196
countries party to the 1949 Geneva
Conventions, including this second treaty
but also including the other three.[6]

See also

List of parties to the Geneva

Conventions
References

1. "Treaties, States parties, and Commentaries

- Geneva Convention (II) on Wounded, Sick
and Shipwrecked of Armed Forces at Sea,
1949 - -" (https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/appl
ic/ihl/ihl.nsf/7c4d08d9b287a42141256739
003e636b/44072487ec4c2131c125641e00
4a9977) . ihl-databases.icrc.org. Retrieved
13 April 2022.

2. ICRC. "Convention (II) for the Amelioration

of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and
Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at
Sea. Geneva, 12 August 1949" (https://ihl-d
atabases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.x
sp?documentId=2F5AA9B07AB61934C125
63CD002D6B25&action=openDocument) .
 Retrieved 5 March 2017. "The undersigned
Plenipotentiaries of the Governments
represented at the Diplomatic Conference
held at Geneva from April 21 to August 12,
1949, for the purpose of revising the Xth
Hague Convention of October 18, 1907 for
the Adaptation to Maritime Warfare of the
Principles of the Geneva Convention of
1906 [...]"

3. Fleck, Dietrich (2013). The Handbook of

International Humanitarian Law. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. p. 322. ISBN 978-0-
19-872928-0.

4. "Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the

Condition of Wounded, Sick and
Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at
Sea. Geneva, 12 August 1949" (https://ww
 w.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/7c4d08d9b287a4214125
6739003e636b/44072487ec4c2131c12564
1e004a9977?OpenDocument) . The
American National Red Cross. Retrieved
20 November 2009.

5. Pictet, Jean (1958). Geneva Conventions of

12 August 1949: Commentary (https://ww
w.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/Geneva_conv
entions-1949.html) . International
Committee of the Red Cross. Retrieved
20 November 2009.

6. "States party to the main treaties" (https://

www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/
party_main_treaties) . The American
National Red Cross. Retrieved 5 December
2009.
External links

Final Act of the Second Wikisource

has original
Peace Conference, The
text related
Hague (https://www.icr to this
article:
c.org/ihl.nsf/385ec082
Second
b509e76c4125673900 Geneva
Convention
3e636d/4360cf9a132f
97d7c125641e00372ed1?OpenDocume
nt) , 18 October 1907

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