Fourth Geneva Convention
The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1949, and came into force in October 1950.[1] While the first three conventions dealt with combatants, the Fourth Geneva Convention was the first to deal with humanitarian protections for civilians in a war zone. There are currently 196 countries party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, including this and the other three treaties.[2]
Among its numerous provisions, the Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly prohibits the transfer of the population of an occupying power into the territory it occupies, a subject of significant legal debate regarding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The Palestinians have often cited this aspect of the Convention to support their claims against Israeli practices in the occupied territories, as detailed in the discussion of international law's roles in Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.[3]
The Fourth Geneva Convention only concerns protected civilians in occupied territory rather than the effects of hostilities, such as the strategic bombing during World War II.[5] The Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (AP-1) finally prohibits all intentional attacks on "the civilian population and civilian objects."[6][note 2] It also prohibits and defines "indiscriminate attacks" as "incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated."[note 3] This rule is referred to by scholars as the principle of proportionality.[7][8] Until well after World War II ended in 1945, the norm of reciprocity provided a justification for conduct in armed conflict.[9]
In 1993, the United Nations Security Council adopted a report from the Secretary-General and a Commission of Experts which concluded that the Geneva Conventions had passed into the body of customary international humanitarian law, thus making them binding on non-signatories to the Conventions whenever they engage in armed conflicts.[10] This broader application underscores the importance of the Fourth Geneva Convention in ongoing conflicts where allegations of violations frequently surface, emphasising its role in international efforts to ensure the protection of civilians, as illustrated by the ongoing debates and legal interpretations in modern conflicts.[11]
Part IV. Execution of the Convention[edit]
This part contains "the formal or diplomatic provisions which it is customary to place at the end of an international Convention to settle the procedure for bringing it into effect are grouped together under this heading" (1). They are similar in all four Geneva Conventions.[19]