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Protocol II

Protocol II is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. It defines certain international laws that strive to provide better protection for victims of internal armed conflicts that take place within the borders of a single country. The scope of these laws is more limited than those of the rest of the Geneva Conventions out of respect for sovereign rights and duties of national governments.

"Geneva Protocol II" redirects here. For other topics, see Geneva Protocol (disambiguation).

Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II)

Protocol

20 February 1974 – 8 June 1977

8 June 1977 (1977-06-08)

Geneva

7 December 1978 (1978-12-07)

Six months after two instruments ratification or accession were deposited

3 States[1]
169 States[2]

Swiss Federal Council

English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, Russian

As of July 2020, the Protocol had been ratified by 169 countries, with the United States, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Israel being notable exceptions. However, the United States, Iran, and Pakistan signed it on 12 December 1977, which signifies an intention to work towards ratifying it.[3] The Iranian signature was given prior to the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Persons taking no active part in hostilities should be treated humanely (including military persons who have ceased to be active as a result of sickness, injury, or detention).

The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.

Historically, international law of armed conflict addressed traditional declarations of war between nations. When the Geneva Conventions were updated in 1949 after the Second World War, delegates sought to define certain minimum humanitarian standards to situations that had all the characteristics of war, without being an international war.[4]


These negotiations resulted in Article 3, common to all four of the basic treaties of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Common Article 3 applies to armed conflicts that are not of an international character, but that are contained within the boundaries of a single country. It provides limited protection to victims, including:


By the 1970s, diplomats were attempting to negotiate clarifications to the brief language of Article 3, and to extend the scope of international law to cover additional humanitarian rights in the context of internal conflicts. These efforts resulted in Protocol II of the Geneva Conventions. The debate over this protocol centered on two conflicting ideas.[5] First, that the distinction between internal and international armed conflict is artificial from the point of view of a victim. Humanitarian principles should apply regardless of the identity of the combatants. Second, that international law does not apply to non-international situations. A nation has sovereignty within its borders, and must not accept judgments by and orders from other countries. And Article 6, section 2, also prohibits collective punishment.

Geneva Conventions

on the treatment of battlefield casualties.

First Geneva Convention

on the treatment of casualties in war at sea.

Second Geneva Convention

on the treatment of prisoners of war.

Third Geneva Convention

on the treatment of civilians during wartime.

Fourth Geneva Convention

a 1977 amendment adopted addressing the protection of victims in international conflicts.

Protocol I

a 2005 amendment adopted specifying the adoption of the Red Crystal emblem.

Protocol III

Committee of the Red Cross: Full text of Protocol II with commentaries

List of countries that have signed or ratified Protocol II

Special issue: 20th anniversary of the 1977 Additional Protocols

International Review of the Red Cross, 1997 – No. 320

Archived 7 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine

President Reagan's message to the Senate on Protocols I & II