First Geneva Convention

First Geneva Cоnvention
Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field
The first-ever Geneva Convention governing the sick and wounded members of armed forces was signed in Geneva in August 1864.
TypeMultilateral treaty
Signed22 August 1864 (1864-08-22)
LocationGeneva, Switzerland
Effective22 June 1865 (1865-06-22)
PartiesList
DepositarySwiss Federal Archives
Full text
First Geneva Convention (1864) at Wikisource

The First Geneva Convention, officially the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field (French: Convention pour l'amélioration du sort des blessés et des malades dans les forces armées en campagne), held on 22 August 1864, is the first of four treaties of the Geneva Conventions.[1][2] It defines "the basis on which rest the rules of international law for the protection of the victims of armed conflicts."[3]

After the first treaty was adopted in 1864, it was significantly revised and replaced in 1906, 1929, and finally 1949. It is inextricably linked to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is both the instigator for the inception and enforcer of the articles in these conventions.

  1. ^ "The First Geneva Convention of 1864: a historic document". International Review of the Red Cross. 6 (67): International Review of the Red Cross. 1966. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  2. ^ Bennett, Angela (2005). The Geneva Convention, the Hidden Origins of the Red Cross. Sutton Publishing. p. x. ISBN 978-0750941471.
  3. ^ Pictet, Jean S. (1951), "The New Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War Victims", The American Journal of International Law, 45 (3): 462–475, doi:10.2307/2194544, JSTOR 2194544