Geneva Conventions at 60

The Geneva Conventions have been protecting people from the barbarity of war for the last 60 years.

But are they still relevant in a changing world? What new challenges do they face in the 21st century? And what can we do to make sure they continue to help protect people for the next 60 years?

The British Red Cross and the Foreign Office marked the 60th anniversary by publishing a joint action plan on the future of the Geneva Conventions, based on comments posted on our joint website:

The Geneva Conventions at 60

What are the Geneva Conventions?

The Geneva Conventions are 4 international treaties that, with their three Additional Protocols, form the basis of modern international humanitarian law.

• Convention 1: for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded and sick in armed forces in the field (revision and development of the Geneva Convention of 1929)
• Convention 2: for the amelioration of the condition of wounded, sick and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea (revision and development of the 10th Convention of The Hague of 1907)
• Convention 3: relative to the treatment of prisoners of war (revision and development of the Geneva Convention of 1929)
• Convention 4: relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war.

Read more about the 4 conventions on the ICRC website.

How the conventions touch lives round the world

See how the Geneva Conventions affect the lives of people around the world. Videos by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Defence Medical Service

One key part of the UK's commitment to upholding the Geneva Conventions is the Defence Medical Services (DMS).

The DMS provide healthcare to approximately 258,000 people, mostly UK Armed Forces personnel serving worldwide and also family dependants of Service personnel and entitled defence civilians overseas. Aspects of healthcare are also provided to other countries' Service and civilian personnel overseas, both in permanent military bases and in areas of conflict and war zones.  

The DMS seek to comply fully with all aspects of the Law of Armed Conflict and with International Humanitarian Law. Injured personnel from enemy forces are treated in the same manner as our own troops, whether during conventional conflict between nations (such as in the Falkland Islands or the two Gulf War conflicts) or during insurgencies (such as on current operations in Afghanistan). Such casualties are treated according to their clinical priority and provided with both emergency and follow-up care. Prior to transfer to host nation medical services, civilians are provided with emergency medical care. DMS deployed medical facilities are open to inspection by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Complying with the Law of Armed Conflict is not without its difficulties. Medical personnel, facilities and transports sometimes come under attack from enemy or insurgent forces. In irregular warfare, some injured British troops can find it unsettling to be treated in hospital next to those who have just been attacking them, their comrades and innocent civilians indiscriminately, as we know from recent experience in Afghanistan. But as the UK Armed Forces' Surgeon General, Lieutenant General Louis Lillywhite, has stated 'it is well-established practice for casualties from both sides to be treated in the same hospitals during war, and there are no plans to change the rules at Camp Bastion'. The British Red Cross issued a statement in support, confirming this practice '…is in accordance with the principles and rules of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, as well as their humanitarian spirit'.