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the Diplomatic Conference for the Establishment of International Conventions for the Protection of Victims of War, held in Geneva from 21 April to 12 August 1949. Entry into force: 21 October 1950.
The Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War was signed at Geneva, July 27, 1929. [1][2] Its official name is the Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. It entered into force 19 June 1931. [3] . It is this version of the Geneva Conventions which covered the treatment of prisoners of war during World War II.
The Convention establishes the principle that prisoners of war must be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities (Article 118). The updated Commentary on this Convention was published online on 20 June 2020 and takes into account developments up to this date.
During the Second World War, the 1929 Convention had proven effective to protect captured combatants in the hands of States that were parties to it, so in 1949, the new GC III aimed to strengthen that protection and make it universal.
Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy: Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as well as mem-bers of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.
The Third Geneva Convention provides a wide range of protections for prisoners of war. It defines their rights and sets down detailed rules for their treatment and eventual release. International humanitarian law (IHL) also protects other people deprived of liberty as a result of armed conflict.
Article 4 - Prisoners of war. A. Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy: (1) Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.
