First Geneva

Convention

The First Geneva Convention for the

Amelioration of the Condition of the
Wounded in Armies in the Field, held on 22
August 1864, is the first of four treaties of
the Geneva Conventions.[1][2] It defines "the
basis on which rest the rules of
international law for the protection of the
victims of armed conflicts."[3]
After the first treaty
First Geneva
was adopted in
Convention
1864, it was
significantly revised
and replaced in
1906, 1929, and
finally 1949. It is
inextricably linked to The first-ever
the International Geneva
Convention
Committee of the governing the sick
Red Cross, which is and wounded
members of armed
both the instigator forces was signed
for the inception in Geneva in
August 1864.
and enforcer of the
Type Multilateral
articles in these
treaty
conventions.
 Signed 22 August 18
History
Location Geneva,
Switzerland

Parties List

Full text
Henry Dunant, co-
founder of the Red First Geneva
Cross

Convention (1864)
The 1864 Geneva at Wikisource
Convention was
instituted at a critical period in European
political and military history. Elsewhere,
the American Civil War had been raging
since 1861, and would ultimately claim
between 750,000 and 900,000 lives.
Between the fall of Napoleon at the Battle
of Waterloo in 1815 and the rise of his
nephew in the Italian campaign of 1859,
the powers had maintained peace in
western Europe.[4]

Yet, with the 1853–1856 conflict in the

Crimea, war had returned to Europe, and
while those troubles were "in a distant and
inaccessible region" northern Italy was "so
accessible from all parts of western
Europe that it instantly filled with curious
observers;" while the bloodshed was not
excessive the sight of it was unfamiliar
and shocking.[4] Despite its intent of
ameliorating the ravages of war, the
inception of the 1864 Geneva Convention
inaugurated "a renewal of military activity
on a large scale, to which the people of
western Europe…had not been
accustomed since the first Napoleon had
been eliminated."[4]

The movement for an international set of

laws governing the treatment and care for
the wounded and prisoners of war began
when relief activist Henry Dunant
witnessed the Battle of Solferino in 1859,
fought between French-Piedmontese and
Austrian armies in Northern Italy.[5] The
subsequent suffering of 40,000 wounded
soldiers left on the field due to lack of
facilities, personnel, and truces to give
them medical aid moved Dunant into
action.[2] Upon return to Geneva, Dunant
published his account Un Souvenir de
Solferino.[6] He urged the calling together
of an international conference and soon
co-founded with the Swiss lawyer Gustave
Moynier, the International Committee of
the Red Cross in 1863.[7][1]

The signing of the first-ever Geneva Convention by some

of the major European powers in 1864

The International Committee of the Red

Cross (ICRC), while recognising that it is
"primarily the duty and responsibility of a
nation to safeguard the health and
physical well-being of its own people",
knew there would always, especially in
times of war, be a "need for voluntary
agencies to supplement…the official
agencies charged with these
responsibilities in every country."[8] To
ensure that its mission was widely
accepted, it required a body of rules to
govern its own activities and those of the
involved belligerent parties.

Only one year later, the Swiss government

invited the governments of all European
countries, as well as the United States,
Brazil, and Mexico, to attend an official
diplomatic conference. Sixteen countries
sent a total of twenty-six delegates to
Geneva. The meeting was presided over by
General Guillaume Henri Dufour. The
conference took place in the Alabama
room at Geneva's Hotel de Ville (city hall)
on 22 August 1864.[9] The conference
adopted the first Geneva Convention "for
the Amelioration of the Condition of the
Wounded in Armies in the Field".
Representatives of 12 states signed the
convention:[10]

Swiss Confederation
Grand Duchy of Baden
Kingdom of Belgium
 Kingdom of Denmark
Kingdom of Spain
French Empire
Grand Duchy of Hesse
Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves
Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Württemberg

The United Kingdom of Norway and

Sweden signed in December.[11] The
United Kingdom signed a year later in
1865.[12] The Grand Duchy of Hesse, the
Kingdom of Bavaria and Austria signed in
1866 following the conclusion of the
Austro-Prussian War.[13] The United States
of America signed in 1882.[12]

The original document is preserved in the

Swiss Federal Archives in Bern.[14] In the
past it has been loaned to the International
Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum in
Geneva.[15]

Application

The convention "derived its obligatory

force from the implied consent of the
states which accepted and applied them in
the conduct of their military operations."[4]
Despite its basic mandates, listed below, it
was successful in effecting significant and
rapid reforms. This first effort provided
only for:[16]

1. the immunity from capture and

destruction of all establishments for
the treatment of wounded and sick
soldiers,
2. the impartial reception and treatment
of all combatants,
3. the protection of civilians providing
aid to the wounded, and
4. the recognition of the Red Cross
symbol as a means of identifying
 persons and equipment covered by
the agreement.

Summary of provisions and

revisions

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 original ten articles of the 1864

treaty[17] have been expanded to the
current 64 articles. This lengthy treaty
protects soldiers that are hors de combat
(out of the battle due to sickness or injury),
as well as medical and religious personnel,
and civilians in the zone of battle. Among
its principal provisions:

Article 12 mandates that wounded and

sick soldiers who are out of the battle
should be humanely treated, and in
particular should not be killed, injured,
tortured, or subjected to biological
experimentation. This article is the
keystone of the treaty, and defines the
principles from which most of the treaty
is derived,[18] including the obligation to
respect medical units and
establishments (Chapter III), the
personnel entrusted with the care of the
wounded (Chapter IV), buildings and
material (Chapter V), medical transports
(Chapter VI), and the protective sign
(Chapter VII).
Article 15 mandates that wounded and
sick soldiers should be collected, cared
for, and protected, though they may also
become prisoners of war.
Article 16 mandates that parties to the
conflict should record the identity of the
dead and wounded, and transmit this
information to the opposing party.
Article 9 allows the International Red
Cross "or any other impartial
 humanitarian organization" to provide
protection and relief of wounded and
sick soldiers, as well as medical and
religious personnel.

Due to significant ambiguities in the

articles with certain terms and concepts
and even more so to the rapidly developing
nature of war and military technology, the
original articles had to be revised and
expanded, largely at the Second Geneva
Conference in 1906 and Hague
Conventions of 1899 and 1907 which
extended the articles to maritime
warfare.[16] The 1906 version was updated
and replaced by the 1929 version when
minor modifications were made to it. It
was again updated and replaced by the
1949 version, better known as the Final
Act of Geneva Conference, 1949.[19]

However, as Jean S. Pictet, Director of the

International Committee of the Red Cross,
noted in 1951, "the law, however, always
lags behind charity; it is tardy in
conforming with life's realities and the
needs of humankind", as such it is the duty
of the Red Cross "to assist in the widening
the scope of law, on the assumption that…
law will retain its value", principally through
the revision and expansion of these basic
principles of the original Geneva
Convention.[3]

For a detailed discussion of each article of

the treaty, see the original text[20] and the
commentary.[18] There are currently 196
countries party to the 1949 Geneva
Conventions, including this first treaty but
also including the other three.[21]

See also

Geneva Conventions
International Committee of the Red
Cross
International humanitarian law
 List of parties to the Geneva
Conventions
Saint Petersburg Declaration of 1868

References

1. "The First Geneva Convention of 1864: a

historic document" (https://www.cambridg
e.org/core/journals/international-review-of-
the-red-cross-1961-1997/article/first-genev
a-convention-of-1864-a-historic-document/
07148A69FF4253CC37ACBC7C044CDC9
3) . International Review of the Red Cross.
6 (67): International Review of the Red
Cross. 1966. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
2. Bennett, Angela (2005). The Geneva
Convention, the Hidden Origins of the Red
Cross. Sutton Publishing. p. x. ISBN 978-
0750941471.

3. Pictet, Jean S. (1951), "The New Geneva

Conventions for the Protection of War
Victims", The American Journal of
International Law, 45 (3): 462–475,
doi:10.2307/2194544 (https://doi.org/10.2
307%2F2194544) , JSTOR 2194544 (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/2194544)
4. Davis, George B. (1907), "The Geneva
Convention of 1906", The American Journal
of International Law, 1 (2): 409–417,
doi:10.2307/2186169 (https://doi.org/10.2
307%2F2186169) , JSTOR 2186169 (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/2186169) ,
S2CID 146904419 (https://api.semanticsch
olar.org/CorpusID:146904419)

5. Baxter, Richard (1977), "Human Rights in

War", Bulletin of the American Academy of
Arts and Sciences, 31 (2): 5,
doi:10.2307/3822833 (https://doi.org/10.2
307%2F3822833) , JSTOR 3822833 (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/3822833)
6. See Dunant, Henri (1862), Un Souvenir de
Solferino (https://archive.org/stream/unsou
venirdesol00dunagoog#page/n7/mode/2u
p) (1 ed.), Geneve: Jules Fick

7. Sperry, C.S. (1906), "The Revision of the

Geneva Convention, 1906", Proceedings of
the American Political Science Association,
3: 33–57, doi:10.2307/3038537 (https://do
i.org/10.2307%2F3038537) ,
JSTOR 3038537 (https://www.jstor.org/sta
ble/3038537)
8. Anderson, Chandler P. (1920), "The
International Red Cross Organization", The
American Journal of International Law, 14
(1): 210–214, doi:10.2307/2187844 (http
s://doi.org/10.2307%2F2187844) ,
JSTOR 2187844 (https://www.jstor.org/sta
ble/2187844) , S2CID 146924480 (https://a
pi.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:14692448
0)

9. "Town Hall - Alabama Room" (https://www.

geneve.com/en/attractions/town-hall-alaba
ma-room) . Geneva Tourism. Retrieved
22 November 2021.
10. "Convention for the Amelioration of the
Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the
Field. Geneva, 22 August 1864" (https://ihl-
databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/States.
xsp?xp_viewStates=XPages_NORMStatesP
arties&xp_treatySelected=120) . Geneva,
Switzerland: International Committee of the
Red Cross ICRC. Retrieved 11 June 2017.

11. "Watch: 70th birthday of the Geneva

Conventions: Why was it signed and what
does it do?" (https://www.euronews.com/2
019/08/12/watch-70th-birthday-of-the-gene
va-conventions-why-was-it-signed-and-what
-does-it-do) . Euronews. 12 August 2019.
Retrieved 1 January 2022.
12. "Rules and conventions" (https://www.bbc.c
o.uk/ethics/war/overview/rules.shtml) .
BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2021.

13. Bennett, Angela (2005). The Geneva

Convention, the Hidden Origins of the Red
Cross. Sutton Publishing. p. 75. ISBN 978-
0750941471.

14. Bennett, Angela (2005). The Geneva

Convention, the Hidden Origins of the Red
Cross. Sutton Publishing. p. xiii. ISBN 978-
0750941471.
15. "25 Years of the Additional Protocols to the
Geneva Conventions of 1949 - Original
Geneva Convention of 1864 now in Geneva
museum" (https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/res
ources/documents/news-release/2009-and
-earlier/5avlf8.htm) . ICRC. 7 June 2002.
Retrieved 1 January 2022.

16. "Geneva Conventions" (https://www.britanni

ca.com/event/Geneva-Conventions) .
Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved
20 August 2020.
17. "Convention for the Amelioration of the
Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the
Field. Geneva, 22 August 1864" (https://ihl-
databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/States.
xsp?xp_viewStates=XPages_NORMStatesP
arties&xp_treatySelected=120) . Geneva,
Switzerland: International Committee of the
Red Cross ICRC. Retrieved 11 June 2017.

18. 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.
19. "Final Act of the Diplomatic Conference of
Geneva, 12 August 1949" (https://ihl-databa
ses.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?do
cumentId=A0B2F6B37BB094C7C12563CD
002D6ADA&action=openDocument) .
Geneva, Switzerland: International
Committee of the Red Cross ICRC.
Retrieved 11 June 2017.

20. "Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the

Condition of the Wounded and Sick in
Armed Forces in the Field. Geneva, 12
August 1949" (https://ihl-databases.icrc.or
g/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId
=4825657B0C7E6BF0C12563CD002D6B0B
&action=openDocument) . Geneva,
Switzerland. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
21. "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.

Further reading

Chandler P. Anderson, "International Red

Cross Organization", The American
Journal of International Law, 1920

Richard Baxter, "Human Rights in War",

Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, 1977

Bennett, Angela, "The Geneva

Convention, the Hidden Origins of the
Red Cross", Sutton Publishing, 2005
George B. Davis, "The Geneva
Convention", The American Journal of
International Law, 1907

Jean S. Pictet, "The New Geneva

Conventions for the Protection of War
Victims", The American Journal of
International Law, 1951

Francis Lieber, "Instructions for the

Government of Armies of the United
States in the Field (http://avalon.law.yal
e.edu/19th_century/lieber.asp) ", Lincoln
General Orders, 24 April 1863.
External links

Facsimile of the Wikisource

has original
original document (http
text related
s://www.icrc.org/eng/r to this
article:
esources/documents/t
First
reaty/geneva-conventio Geneva
Convention
n-1864.htm)
150 years of the 1864 Geneva
Convention – 150 years of humanitarian
action (https://www.icrc.org/150years)

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=First_Geneva_Convention&oldid=1196412662"
This page was last edited on 17 January 2024, at
10:44 (UTC). •
Content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0 unless
otherwise noted.