03/04/2017
The 1929 conference yielded two conventions that were signed on July 27th 1929. One, the " Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field ", was the third version to replace the original convention of 1864. [11][8] The other was adopted after experiences in World War I had shown the deficiencies in the protection of prisoners of war under the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 . The " Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" was not to replace these earlier conventions signed at The Hague, rather it supplemented them.[12][13]
Inspired by the wave of humanitarian and pacifistic enthusiasm following World War II and the outrage towards the war crimes disclosed by the Nuremberg Trials, a series of conferences were held in 1949 reaffirming, expanding and updating the prior Geneva and Hague Conventions. It yielded four distinct conventions:
The First Geneva Convention " for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field " was the fourth update of the original 1864 convention and replaced the 1929 convention on the same subject matter. [14]
The Second Geneva Convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea " replaced the Hague Convention (X) of 1907. [15] It was the first Geneva Convention on the protection of the victims of maritime warfare and mimicked the structure and provisions of the First Geneva Convention. [8]
The Third Geneva Convention "relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" replaced the 1929 Geneva Convention that dealt with prisoners of war.[16]
In addition to these three conventions, the conference also added a new elaborate Fourth Geneva Convention " relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War". It was the first Geneva Convention not to deal with combatants, rather it had the protection of civilians as its subject matter.
