Explained | What are the Geneva Conventions guidelines during wartime?  

Can the treaties protect those who have been affected by war, especially civilians and the wounded?

The story so far: Russia’s armed invasion of Ukraine starting February 24 has set off a steady escalation in hostilities on Ukrainian soil, and in many cases civilian infrastructure and non-combatants have been impacted. As the Russian military continues to sweep through the country marching on to the capital, Kyiv, presumably in a bid to destabilise the seat of Ukrainian government, there is growing concern surrounding the issue of human rights violations. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his administration have steadfastly denied any responsibility for harm to civilians. However, as the evidence of casualties in the civilian population continues to mount, the world will increasingly look to the Geneva Conventions, a set of principles outlining norms for combatant behaviour during a war, for standards to which the invading Russian forces can be held. Ultimately, if there is a compelling case for prosecuting combatants for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and the crime of aggression, it is not inconceivable that evidence would be collected for an investigation and trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Geneva Conventions are a set of four treaties, formalised in 1949, and three additional protocols, the first two of which were formalised in 1977 and the third in 2005, which codify widely accepted ethical and legal international standards for humanitarian treatment of those impacted by any ongoing war. The focus of the Conventions is the treatment of non-combatants and prisoners of war, and not the use of conventional or biological and chemical weapons, the use of which is governed respectively by the Hague Conventions and the Geneva Protocol.

The First Geneva Convention protects wounded and sick soldiers on land during war. This convention extends to medical and religious personnel, medical units, and medical transport. While recognising distinctive emblems of these organisations, the convention has two annexes containing a draft agreement relating to hospital zones and a model identity card for medical and religious personnel.

The Second Geneva Convention protects wounded, sick and shipwrecked military personnel at sea during war. This convention also extends to hospital ships and medical transports by sea, with specific commentary on the treatment of and protections for their personnel.

The Third Geneva Convention applies to prisoners of war, including a wide range of general protections such as humane treatment, maintenance and equality across prisoners, conditions of captivity, questioning and evacuation of prisoners, transit camps, food, clothing, medicines, hygiene and right to religious, intellectual, and physical activities of prisoners.

The Fourth Geneva Convention, which most imminently applies to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces, protects civilians, including those in occupied territory. The other Geneva Conventions were concerned mainly with combatants rather than civilians. However, based on the experience of World War II, which demonstrated the horrific consequences of having no convention for the protection of civilians in wartime, the Fourth Convention comprising 159 articles outlines the norms for this critical dimension of conflict.

Along with the Additional Protocols of 1977, the Fourth Convention expounds upon the general protection of populations against certain consequences of war, the conduct of hostilities and the status and treatment of protected persons, distinguishing between the situation of foreigners on the territory of one of the parties to the conflict and that of civilians in occupied territory. This convention also spells out the obligations of the occupying power vis-à-vis the civilian population and outlines detailed provisions on humanitarian relief for populations in occupied territory. As the International Committee for the Red Cross, a key medical intermediary in such situations, explains, this convention also contains a specific regime for the treatment of civilian internees, including three annexes on hospital and safety zones, and model regulations on humanitarian relief.