“Prisoner of War! That is the least unfortunate kind of prisoner to be, but it is nevertheless a melancholy state. You are in the power of your enemy. You owe your life to his humanity, and your daily bread to his compassion. You must obey
his orders, go where he tells you, stay where you are bid, await his pleasure, possess your soul in patience.”
– Winston S. Churchill (Ex-POW and former prime minister of the UK)
his orders, go where he tells you, stay where you are bid, await his pleasure, possess your soul in patience.”
– Winston S. Churchill (Ex-POW and former prime minister of the UK)
Previous Geneva Conventions
In 1863, Henry Dunant founded the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) after witnessing 40,000 Austrian, Sardinian, and French troops suffer and die during the Battle of Solferino in Italy.
Many people were inspired by Dunant's ideas. As a result, 12 European nations came together in August of 1864 to sign a treaty, which stated they would care for all sick and wounded soldiers. This became the first Geneva Convention.
The second Geneva Convention was adopted in 1906 to care for the sick and wounded navel forces. The Third Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was established in 1929.
After World War II, drastic changes needed to be made, and the ICRC and the UN updated and revised all three previous Conventions on August 12, 1949. They also added the Fourth Geneva Convention, which protects civilians because they are often most affected by war.
Click on images to enlarge
Military technology has advanced throughout history with the creation of machine guns, tanks, planes, chemical gases, and nuclear weapons. Each has brought about a new level of destruction and has increased the brutality of war. |
“On the one hand, today's ragged wars have gotten messier, more ambiguous, and less controllable than they were 50 years ago, when hierarchal armies of uniformed soldiers faced off. On the other hand, the world still feels the need to
draw the line between war and slaughter, to set limits on human behavior in the heat of battle.”
– Peter Ford (The Christian Monitor August 11, 1999)