Episode Details

After the Second World War, countries came together to improve the legal protection available to certain categories of persons – including prisoners of war – many of whom had suffered greatly during the conflict. The provisions relating to the protection of prisoners of war are contained in the Third Geneva Convention that was adopted in 1949. The vast majority of the 143 articles of that Convention relate to the material conditions for the internment of prisoners of war. In this post, former ICRC Legal Adviser Yvette Issar discusses some of the key principles that run through the Third Convention, underpinning the rules that serve to protect prisoners of war who have been subjected to internment. These principles inform every facet of life for prisoners of war, from standards relating to accommodation, food, and clothing, to the penal and disciplinary regime which is applicable to them. Fuller treatment of these principles is contained in the ICRC’s recently updated Commentary on the Third Geneva Convention. Read the full blog post here: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/