Final Act of the Diplomatic Conference of Geneva, 12 August 1949.
After the adoption of the two Geneva Conventions of 1929 attempts were made to supplement them by new regulations. The Geneva Conference of 1929, in its Final Act, expressed the wish that a conference be convened with a view to regulating more comprehensively the use of medical aircraft in time of war and that an exhaustive study be made in order to prepare an international convention regarding the condition and protection of civilians of enemy nationality in the territory of a belligerent or in the territory occupied by a belligerent. In January 1939, the Swiss Federal Council transmitted to all governments preliminary drafts, prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross, as a basis for a diplomatic conference which was planned to be convened in Geneva early in 1940 but could not take place due to the outbreak of World War II. The preliminary drafts dealt with the following subjects: 1) Revision of the Geneva Convention of 1929 concerning the Wounded and Sick; 2) Revision of the Hague Conventions of 1907 for the Adaptation to Maritime Warfare of the Principles of the Geneva Convention; 3) Draft Convention for the Adaptation to Air Warfare of the Principles of the Geneva Convention; 4) Draft Convention for the Establishment of Hospital and Safety Zones in Time of War; 5) Draft Convention concerning the Condition and Protection of Civilians of Enemy Nationality in the Territory of a Belligerent or in the Territory Occupied by a Belligerent. After the end of World War II new drafts were prepared which took account of the experience gained during the war. The two Geneva Conventions of 1929 as well as the Hague Convention of 1907 for the Adaptation to Maritime Warfare of the Principles of the Geneva Convention were included in the revision. A new draft for the protection of civilians was drawn up. The four draft conventions were prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross with the assistance of a conference of government experts and were submitted to the International Red Cross Conference held at Stockholm in 1948. The Diplomatic Conference which adopted them in their final form took place from 21 April to 12 August 1949 in Geneva and assembled representatives of 63 governments. The Conference made an innovation by grouping together the common provisions of the four Conventions. They embrace the general provisions, which are placed at the beginning of each Convention, the provisions on the repression of breaches of the Conventions and the final provisions. Nearly all the States existing at present have ratified the four Conventions or adhered to them. The Final Act has no force of law.
Final Act
The Conference convened by the Swiss Federal Council for the purpose of revising:
the Geneva Convention of 27 July 1929 for the Relief of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field,
the Xth Hague Convention of 18 October 1907 for the Adaptation to Maritime Warfare of the Principles of the Geneva Convention of 6 July 1906, the Geneva Convention of 27 July 1929 relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, and to established a Convention for the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, deliberated from 21 April to 12 August 1949, at Geneva, on the basis of the four Draft Conventions examined and approved by the XVIIth international Red Cross Conference held at Stockholm.
The Conference established the texts of the following Conventions:
I. Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field.
II. Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea.
III. Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
IV. Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.
These Conventions, the text of which has been established in the English and French languages, are attached to the present Act. The official translation of the same Conventions into Russian and Spanish will be made through the good offices of the Swiss Federal Council.
The Conference further adopted 11 resolutions which are also attached to the present Act:
In witness whereof, the undersigned, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this present Final Act.
Done at Geneva, this twelfth day of August 1949, in the English and French languages. The original and the documents accompanying it shall be deposited in the Archives of the Swiss Confederation.
(Here follow signatures)