Second Geneva Convention

Second Geneva Convention
Geneva Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea
TypeMultilateral treaty
Signed12 August 1949 (1949-08-12)
LocationGeneva, Switzerland
Effective21 October 1950 (1950-10-21)
Parties
196 states
DepositarySwiss Federal Council
Hospital ship USNS Mercy of the United States Navy

The Geneva Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea (French: Convention pour l'amélioration du sort des blessés, des malades et des naufragés des forces armées sur mer), more commonly referred to as the Second Geneva Convention or Geneva Convention II and abbreviated as GCII, is one of the four treaties of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. It was first adopted in 1949, replacing the Hague Convention (X) of 1907. It adapts the main protective regime of the First Geneva Convention to combat at sea.

Summary of provisions

A political map of the world
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

Geneva Convention II is a lengthy document consisting of 63 articles. The most essential provisions of the treaty are:

For a detailed discussion of each article of the treaty, see the original text and the commentary. There are currently 196 countries party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, including this second treaty but also including the other three.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Treaties, States parties, and Commentaries - States Parties - Geneva Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea. Geneva, 12 August 1949". ihl-databases.icrc.org. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  2. ↑ "Treaties, States parties, and Commentaries - Geneva Convention (II) on Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked of Armed Forces at Sea, 1949 - -". ihl-databases.icrc.org. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  3. ↑ ICRC. "Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea. Geneva, 12 August 1949". 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 [...]
  4. ↑ Fleck, Dietrich (2013). The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 322. ISBN 978-0-19-872928-0.
  5. ↑ "Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea. Geneva, 12 August 1949". The American National Red Cross. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  6. ↑ Pictet, Jean (1958). Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949: Commentary. International Committee of the Red Cross. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  7. ↑ "States party to the main treaties". The American National Red Cross. Archived from the original on 15 August 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2009.