MOSCOW, August 22 (RIA Novosti) - On August 22, 1864, 16 European countries signed the first Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, the first universal international humanitarian rights system.
Founder of the Red Cross Jean Henri Dunant from Switzerland initiated the convention’s drafting in 1863. The convention obliged the warring parties to provide humane treatment and patronage for military servicemen and other individuals regarding military duty in case of their injury or sickness (Article 1).
Since the convention’s signing, these individuals were equal in status to the prisoners of war who were covered by international law (Article 2).
The patronage and protection of the warring parties were given to mobile sanitary formations and hospitals (Article 6) and the personnel of sanitary units, transport and hospitals (Article 9). These persons were not supposed to receive the status of the prisoners of war and had to be returned home at the first opportunity (Article 12).
The convention determined for the first time the sign of distinction for medical institutions and personnel involved with caring for the sick and wounded – a red cross on a white background. Medical institutions were to be distinguished by flags with this sign, while medical personnel were to have the flags on bands. Under this convention, the personnel involved in the evacuation and transportation of the sick and wounded correspondingly had the right to carry this sign. It pointed to the neutrality of the personnel and the institutions covered by the convention.
The convention foresaw the start of an inquiry upon the request of one side if its provisions were violated. If such a violation was proved, the warring parties committed themselves to pursuing the culprits as soon as possible (Article 30).
In 1868, the convention was supplemented with new provisions to cover war at sea, but they were not ratified by all of the powers.
The convention’s text was changed and supplemented in 1906 and 1929. These versions were signed by 56 states. Russia joined the convention in 1867.
In June 1918, the convention was ratified by a decree of the Council of People’s Commissars. In 1925, it was extended to all of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union joined the 1929 version in 1931. The convention’s provisions laid the foundations for adopting on August 12, 1949 one of the Geneva conventions on protecting war victims. These documents finally confirmed the primary principle of contemporary international law. Wars are conducted against the enemy’s armed forces; military actions against civilians, the sick and wounded, and prisoners of war are banned.
