Geneva Conventions Materials

International Review of the Red Cross

The International Review of the Red Cross has been continuously published by the International Committee of the Red Cross since 1869, and jointly with Cambridge University Press since 2006. It was first published as Bulletin international Sociétés de secours aux militaries blesses and later as Bulletin international des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge. The English Language Supplement began in 1948; the English edition began in April 1961. The Review is “a forum for debate on international humanitarian law and humanitarian action and policy, during armed conflict and other situations of violence.”

The Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has given permission to reproduce for this site the full text of all issues of the English edition, from Number 1 (April 1961) through Number 856 (December 2004), as well as all issues of the English Language Supplement, from 1948 through 1961. For information and access to current issues of the International Review of the Red Cross, visit the ICRC External site.

*1948-1961 is labeled as an English Supplement

• Analytical Index, 1961-1974
• Analytical Index, 1975-1987

International Committee of the Red Cross

Report on the Work of the Preliminary Conference of National Red Cross Societies for the Study of the Conventions and of Various Problems Relative to the Red Cross
Geneva, July 26 - August 3, 1946

In 1945, the International Committee of the Red Cross, in preparation for drafting revisions to the Geneva Conventions, decided to convene a conference of National Red Cross Societies to elicit their views of the application of the Conventions during World War II. The Committee also wanted to provide the Societies with a forum to discuss the problems they faced as well as the work they had accomplished during the War. On July 26, 1946, at the plenary session of the Preliminary Conference, three Commissions were established, tasked with, respectively, (1) a study of the revision of the Geneva Convention and related provisions; (2) a revision of the Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War and the drafting of a Convention relative to Civilians; and (3) a study of Specific Red Cross Problems.

This report summarizes the findings of the preliminary conference and the recommendations made by the three Commissions to either amend or re-order the existing Articles of the Geneva Conventions. The Commissions proposed language for new Articles, and in some instances, deferred to the International Committee for the drafting of new Articles, but recommended principles for the International Committee to follow. This report also contains recommendations for modifications to the Conventions regarding the work of the National Red Cross Societies. In its discussion of each of its recommendations, the report references a series of reports prepared by the International Committee prior to the Conference, which provide commentary and background material, and offer proposals regarding the issues that would be addressed by the Conference. The report indicates which of these proposals have been endorsed by the Conference, and notes instances where Conference recommendations reflect proposals offered either by previous International Red Cross conferences or by study commissions that the conferences appointed.

Report on the Work of the Conference of Government Experts for the Study of the Conventions for the Protection of War Victims
Geneva, April 14-26, 1947

In preparation for the revision of the 1929 Geneva Conventions and the drafting of new humanitarian agreements, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) suggested that the Allied Governments convene a Conference of Experts to study the following: (1) Revision of the Geneva Convention of July 27, 1929, for the Relief of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the field, and related stipulations; (2) Revision of the Geneva Convention of July 27, 1929, relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War; and (3) Establishment of a Convention relating to the Condition and Protection of Civilians in Time of War. When the Conference convened on April 14, 1947, three commissions were appointed to address each of these topics. In the closing days of the conference, the reports submitted by each of the commissions were discussed in plenary session and adopted with amendments.

This report reviews the final recommendations of each of the three Commissions, which proposed modifications to each existing Article of the Geneva Convention and, in the case of the Third Commission, proposed new Articles. In its discussion of each of these recommendations, the report reviews how they were addressed by several previous initiatives to revise the 1929 Convention: the 1937 commission of international experts convened by the ICRC to frame a revised Draft of the Geneva Convention; the July-August 1946 Preliminary Conference of National Red Cross Societies, and the ICRC report to that conference.

Documents on the Conventions for the Protection of War Victims

In May 1948 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) submitted to all Governments and States signatory to the Geneva Convention, and to all Red Cross Societies, four revised or new conventions. These conventions would be presented for discussion at the August 1948 XVIIth International Red Cross Conference, to be held in Stockholm. Collectively known as “Revised and New Draft Conventions for the Protection of War Victims,” the four documents address the following subjects:

• Revision of the Geneva Convention of July 27, 1929, for the relief of Wounded and Sick of Armies in the field;
• Revision of the Xth Hague Convention of October 18, 1907, for the adaptation to Maritime Warfare of the principles of the Geneva Convention;
• Revision of the Convention signed at Geneva on July 27, 1929, relative to the treatment of Prisoners of War; and
• Drafting of a new Convention for the protection of Civilians in time of war.

These revised and new conventions were referred, for debate and approval, to a Legal Commission established within the XVIIth Conference. The Conference adopted the recommendations of the commission, and gave final approval to the revised and new conventions.  The Conference recommended that “all Governments meet at the earliest possible moment in Diplomatic Conference for the adoption and signature of the texts approved.”

Draft Revised or New Conventions for the Protection of War Victims
Geneva, May 1948

In May 1948 the ICRC issued as a report the final revised drafts of three existing conventions: the Geneva Convention of 1929 relating to the sick and wounded; the Tenth Hague Convention of 1907 concerning maritime warfare; and the Geneva Convention of 1929 relating to prisoners of war. It also issued a preliminary draft of a new Convention for the protection of civilians in time of war. These drafts were the outgrowth of consultations and meetings dating back to October 1945 with a conference of government experts, the National Red Cross societies, several governments, and representatives of religious and non-sectarian groups. The views of these groups are reflected in “remarks” that accompany the text of each article of the four conventions in the May 1948 report.

This draft document was presented for discussion at the August 1948 International Red Cross Conference (ICRC). The ICRC recommended its implementation “at the earliest possible moment.”  

Seventeenth International Red Cross Conference
Stockholm, August 1948

This document contains the text of the proceedings of the six plenary meetings of the XVIIth conference. These proceedings include discussion of the draft language proposed by the Legal Commission regarding the Geneva Conventions; the Hague Conventions; the Conventions on Prisoners of War; and the Convention on Civilians. This document also includes the resolutions adopted by the conference, and a list of documents submitted by individual countries.

Revised and New Draft Conventions for the Protection of War Victims: Texts Approved and Amended by the XVIIth International Red Cross Conference (Revised Translation)
October 1948

This document contains the texts approved and amended by the XVIIth International Red Cross Conference of the following four revised and new conventions, which are collectively known as “Revised and New Conventions for the Protection of War Victims.”

• Revision of the Geneva Convention of July 27, 1929, for the relief of the wounded and sick in armies in the field;
• Revision of the Tenth Hague Convention of October 18, 1907, for the adaptation to maritime warfare of the principles of the Geneva Convention of 1906;
• Revision of the Convention concluded at Geneva on July 27, 1929, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war;
• Convention for the protection of civilian persons in time of war

Revised and New Draft Conventions for the Protection of War Victims: Remarks and Proposals
February 1949

In February 1949 the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) prepared a communication to Governments expected to attend the scheduled April 1949 Diplomatic Conference, at which time the "Conventions [for the protection of war victims would] be given their ultimate form.” This communication contains suggestions advanced by the ICRC regarding amendments to the conventions adopted by the XVIIth ICRC Conference. The ICRC notes in the introduction to this document that they “have added certain comments and proposals which they consider useful in light of the exhaustive study of the Conventions they have now pursued for three years.” The conventions, known collectively as “Revised and New Conventions for the Protection of War Victims,” as amended are:

• Revision of the Geneva Convention of July 27, 1929, for the relief of the wounded and sick in armed forces in the field;
• Revision of the Tenth Hague Convention of October 18, 1907, for the adaptation to maritime warfare of the principles of the Geneva Convention of 1906;
• Revision of the Convention signed at Geneva on July 27, 1929, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war;
• Draft Convention for the protection of civilian persons in time of war.

Analysis for the Use of National Red Cross Societies, Volumes I and II
The Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949

In 1950, the International Committee of the Red Cross published a preliminary analysis of those provisions of the four Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949 which had a “direct interest” for the National Societies of the Red Cross. Volume I of this preliminary work provides, by chapter, and articles within each chapter, an analysis of select provisions of the First and Second Conventions. The Committee notes that because the “First Convention [wounded and sick] relates back to the original instrument from which all Red Cross law derives, a particularly detailed study of it was required.” The Committee also notes that because the Second Convention, which applies to naval warfare, “has the same object and the same general arrangement as the First Convention,” it has limited its analysis to only those provisions “differing notably” from the First Convention. Volume II is divided into three sections: Articles common to the four Geneva Conventions, Convention No. III, and Convention No. IV. The Committee notes that the first section is confined to a study of those provisions of the four Conventions “which fix the scope of the Conventions, or directly or indirectly interest the Red Cross, insofar as they modify or extend” other international treaties. Section two provides an analysis of the regulations applicable to the treatment of prisoners of war (Convention No. III), grouped under two headings: relations of prisoners of war with the exterior (including correspondence and relief supplies); and information bureaus and relief societies, including the Central Prisoners of War Agency at Geneva. Section three analyzes provisions of the entirely new Convention No. IV that addresses the protection of civilian persons. The Committee notes that it has, in its examination of select Articles of this Convention, “emphasized points which give [Red Cross] Societies an active part in implementing this new law and an influence in its future development.”

The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949: Commentary
Jean S. Pictet, General Editor

The Geneva Conventions are international treaties that constitute one component of international humanitarian law.This authoritative commentary on the 1949 Geneva Conventions consists of four volumes, linked below as fully searchable text. Each of the volumes, published between 1952 and 1959, corresponds to one of the four Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949. Under the general editorship of Mr. Jean S. Pictet — Doctor of Laws and then Director for General Affairs of the International Committee of the Red Cross — the authors examine the four Conventions, article by article, and deal with questions concerning the implementation and application of international humanitarian law. This commentary can prove relevant in interpreting the provisions of the Conventions, which are still in force today. The four-volume Commentary has been reproduced for this site with the permission of the Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

• Volume I: For the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field
• Volume II: For the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea
• Volume III: Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War
• Volume IV: Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War

Can the Status of Prisoners of War be Altered?
René-Jean Wilhelm, 1953

(short description?)

Draft Rules for the Limitation of the Dangers Incurred by the Civilian Population in Time of War
Geneva, September 1956

(short description?)

Final Record Concerning the Draft Rules for the Limitation of Dangers Incurred by the Civilian Population in Time of War
XIXth International Conference of the Red Cross
New Delhi, October-November 1957

(short description?)

Final Record of the Diplomatic Conference for the Establishment of International Conventions for the Protection of War Victims
Geneva, 21 April - 12 August 1949

The Diplomatic Conference of Geneva of 1949—frequently referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention—is the only Geneva Convention that addresses the protection of civilians in times of war. The First, Second, and Third Geneva Conventions of 1949 are concerned with members of armed forces, and all three were revisions of international agreements that existed prior to 1949. Before World War II, no international agreement provided effective protection for civilians in wartime situations. Events that occurred as part of that war prompted the International Committee of the Red Cross, governments, and other entities to establish such an agreement as one component of international humanitarian law.

The Final Record of the Diplomatic Conference of Geneva of 1949 documents the Convention’s meeting, personnel, and resulting agreement in three volumes. The first volume contains the final and draft texts of the international conventions for the protection of war victims, conference resolutions, and texts of the other Geneva Conventions and of the Hague Convention of 1907. The second volume, which is divided into two books, includes records for all meetings held during the Diplomatic Conference. The third volume contains annexes for all of the Geneva Conventions. These volumes also contain reference tables, lists of attendees, and other information from the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Final Record has been reproduced as fully searchable text for this site with the permission of the Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Volumes I, II-A, II-B, and III

Respect of the Geneva Conventions Measures Taken to Repress Violations. Report

• Volume 1 (1965) - Item 4a of the provisional agenda of the International Humanitarian Law Commission; XXth International Conference of the Red Cross, Vienna
• Volume 2 (1969) - Item 3 of the provisional agenda of the Commission on Humanitarian Law and Relief to Civilian Population in the event of armed conflict; XXIst International Conference of the Red Cross, Istanbul

Reaffirmation and Development of the Laws and Customs Applicable in Armed Conflicts
Istanbul, September 1969

Conference of Government Experts on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts
Geneva, 24 May - 12 June 1971

Experts from 39 countries participated in this conference, which was convened by the International Committee of the Red Cross, to draft supplementary rules for the law of armed conflict. The eight-volume collection of materials from this conference has been reproduced as fully searchable text for this site with the permission of the Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Volume 1-8

Report on the Work of the Conference

Second Session, 3 May - 3 June 1972: Volume 1 | Volume 2

On the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons

In May 1971, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) convened the first session of the Conference of Government Experts on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts. The second session of this conference, which was open to all the States Parties to the Geneva Conventions, was convened a year later. At the 1972 session, the experts of 19 governments submitted a written proposal suggesting that the ICRC should consult experts on the problem of the use of certain conventional weapons. Pursuant to this recommendation, a working group of experts met twice in 1973, and later that year issued its report, entitled Weapons that May Cause Unnecessary Suffering or Have Indiscriminate Effects. The majority of this report, the full text of which is linked below, is characterized as “documentary” and focuses on a description of the relevant contemporary weapons and their effects on the human body. The report also surveys the existing legal limitations regarding the use of specific weapons, and describes briefly all the major categories of weapons, discussing their military applications in relation to the concept of indiscriminateness.

Representatives to the 1972 conference also requested that the question of conventional weapons be addressed at a separate meeting. To comply with this request, the ICRC convened, in two sessions—1974 and 1976—the Conference of Government Experts on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons. The purpose of the conference was “to study in depth, from the humanitarian standpoint, the question of the prohibition or limitation of the use of conventional weapons that may cause unnecessary suffering or have indiscriminate effects.” The two conference proceedings reports, linked below, include a discussion and analysis of proposed legal criteria, discussion and evaluation of specific categories of weapons, e.g., small-calibre projectiles and incendiary weapons, and a summary of the work of sub-groups that addressed these issues.

• Weapons that may Cause Unnecessary Suffering or have Indiscriminate Effects
• Conference of Government Experts on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons, 1974 Report
• Conference of Government Experts on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons, 1976 Report

Draft Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949: Commentary
Geneva, October 1973

Official Records of the Diplomatic Conference on Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts
Geneva, 1974-1977

This 17-volume set includes the full text of all resolutions and protocols enacted at the four sessions of the Diplomatic Conference, held in Geneva from February 20 through March 29, 1974; February 3 through April 18, 1975; April 21 through June 11, 1976; and March 17 through June 10, 1977. The objective of the Conference was to study two draft Additional Protocols, relating to the protection of victims of international and non-international armed conflicts, that were prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Volume I contains the Final Act, the resolutions adopted by this Conference, and the draft Additional Protocols. Volume II contains the rules of procedure, the full list of participants, the report of the Drafting Committee, and the reports of the Credentials Committee for all four sessions of the Diplomatic Conference. Volumes III and IV contain the table of amendments. Volumes V through VII contain the summary records of the plenary meetings of the conference. The summary records and reports of Committees I, II, and III are contained in volumes VIII through XV. The summary records and reports of the Ad Hoc Committee on Conventional Weapons are in volume XVI. A complete table of contents of the sixteen volumes is in Volume XVII.

Volume I-XVII - General Index

Commentary on the Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949
Yves Sandoz, Christphe Swinarski, and Bruno Zimmermann, editors
Geneva, 1987

Following the meeting of two sessions of the Conference of Government Experts on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts (1971-1972), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) drew up the complete text of two draft Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions, one for cases of international armed conflict, the other for conflicts not of an international nature. The drafts were sent to all participating governments in June 1973, and presented to the 22nd International Conference of the Red Cross in November 1973. These drafts served as the basis for discussion at the Diplomatic Conference on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts (1974-1977), convened by the Swiss Government in its capacity as the depositary of the Geneva Conventions. Attendees were drawn from States that were Parties to the Geneva Conventions as well as from Members of the United Nations. In June 1977, at the completion of the Diplomatic Conference, the two Protocols were adopted and, along with other international instruments, entered into force on December 7, 1978.

The Commentary on the Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977, published in 1987, is considered a scholarly work and aims to explain the provisions of the protocols. Most of the authors whose work appears in the Commentary participated in the Diplomatic Conference (CDDH) as members of the ICRC delegation. The Commentary, the full text of which is linked below, also contains the text of select resolutions adopted at the fourth session of the 1974-1977 Diplomatic Conference; a list of resolutions of the International Conferences of the Red Cross (1921 to 1981) and the 1949 and 1974-1977 Diplomatic Conferences; a list of resolutions adopted by various international bodies; a bibliography of all publications and documents cited in the text of the commentary; and a list of all international instruments, whether in force or not, cited in the text of the commentary.

The SIrUS Project: Towards a determination of which weapons cause "superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering"
Robin M. Coupland, Editor
Geneva, International Committee of the Red Cross, 1997

In 1997, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) initiated a program called “SIrUS,” an acronym for “superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering.” Members of the SIrUS Project—a group of experts in the fields of weapons, medicine, law, and communications—analyzed an ICRC database of war-wounded personnel to quantify certain effects of conventional weapons and used these effects to initially determine what is not superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering. The experts attempted to use both the casualty survival rates off the battlefield and the seriousness of the inflicted injury, as the criteria for determining if a weapon causes unnecessary suffering. They endeavored to define four criteria that make an objective distinction between what does and what does not constitute the effects of conventional weapons, and proposed these criteria as the basis for determining which effects of weapons constitute “superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering.”

Criticism of this well-intentioned, but flawed methodology—which ignored consideration, for example, of military necessity—was raised at the ICRC Meeting of Experts on the SIrUS Project in Geneva, May 10-11, 1999. Growing opposition at the XXVIIth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement—held from October 31 to November 6, 1999—led to the ICRC announcing the withdrawal of the project at the Expert Meeting on Legal Reviews of Weapons and the SIrUS Project, Jongny-sur-Vevey, January 29–30, 2001. The basic document of the SIrUS Project is linked below as fully searchable text.

Constraints on the Waging of War: An Introduction to International Humanitarian Law
Frits Kalshoven and Liesbeth Zegveld
Geneva, International Committee of the Red Cross

First published in English in 1987 and 1991, this third, expanded edition provides basic formation about the origin, character, content and current problems of the body of law known traditionally as the law of war and, more recently, as “international humanitarian law applicable in armed conflict” or “humanitarian law.” According to Professor Kalshoven, an expanded edition of this volume was necessitated by two factors: the numerous and far-reaching developments in the field of international humanitarian law in the late 20th century, and the expansion of the scope of international humanitarian law incorporating human rights law and international criminal law.

Humanitarian law, the goal of which is to “mitigate the human suffering caused by war,” was developed initially as treaty law in the 1860s at two international conferences. It evolved into two branches—the law of The Hague, which relates to the conduct of war and permissible means and methods of war; and the law of Geneva, which relates to the condition of war victims in enemy hands. In the 1960s and 1970s the United Nations developed a third branch of humanitarian law to address the issue of human rights in armed conflict.

Following an introductory overview in Chapter I, the second chapter of this work discusses the development of these three branches of humanitarian law, as well as how they are linked to the field of international criminal law. The line of demarcation for the remainder of this work is the year 1977, when the two Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 were adopted by the Diplomatic Conference on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts (Geneva, 1974–1977).

Chapter III provides a survey of the character of the law of armed conflict as it was implemented and enforced prior to the adoption of the Protocols. Chapter IV reviews in detail the provisions of the two Protocols of 1977, one applicable in international armed conflicts, the other in non-international armed conflicts.

Chapter V surveys conventions and protocols adopted post–1977 to prohibit or restrict the use of weapons, protect cultural property, and amend the law of warfare at sea. Chapter VI discusses the implementation and enforcement of humanitarian law post–1977. This includes an overview of the jurisdiction of the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals, established in 1993 and 1994, respectively; major provisions of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, adopted in 1998; and a summary of the work of the 27th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (Geneva, 1999)

• English, March 2001
• Spanish, April 2005

Customary International Humanitarian Law
Jean-Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck
Cambridge, 2005

This publication is the result of an international study, initiated in 1996, to identify customary law in the area of international humanitarian law.  It is a “comprehensive analysis of the customary rules of international humanitarian law applicable in international and non‑international armed conflicts.”

Volume I and II (Parts 1 and 2)

How Does Law Protect in War?: Cases, Documents and Teaching Materials on Contemporary Practice in International Humanitarian Law
Marco Sassòli and Antoine A. Bouvier, in co-operation with Susan Carr, Lindsey Cameron and Thomas de Saint Maurice
Geneva, 2006 (Second Edition)

This reference work, published by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), is intended to serve both the university community and law practitioners, and broadly reaches out to students and faculties in law, journalism and political science, as well as members of the judiciary. It was first published in 1999 in English and then in 2003 in a revised French edition. In 2006, incorporating material from the revised French edition, the work was further revised and updated, expanded, and published as a two-volume work divided into three parts. This second edition presents more than 230 cases, eleven possible teaching outlines, and provides a comprehensive outline of International Humanitarian Law (IHL).

Volume I, Part I—"Outline of International Humanitarian Law"—consists of 15 chapters, systematically presenting IHL, with suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter. Part I also includes references to articles from the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols as well as references to the 5,000-page ICRC study, published in 2005, Customary International Humanitarian Law. Part II—"Possible Teaching Outlines"—provides advice and recommendations on how to teach IHL. The introductory materials in Volume I include a user's guide, a list of Internet sites, and a table of the court cases. Volume II, Part III—"Cases and Documents"—is considered to be the main body of this publication.The cases and documents are organized in both chronological and geographical order. Each case is followed by questions for discussion.

Volume I and II

The Proceedings of the Hague Peace Conferences
18 May - 29 July 1899 and 15 June - 18 October 1907

The Peace Conferences held in The Hague, Netherlands, in 1899 and 1907 were “the first truly international assemblies meeting in time of peace for the purpose of preserving peace, not of concluding a war in progress.” The ambitious agenda of the two conferences concerned international arms limitation and the peaceful settlement of disputes by arbitration, as well as regulation of the conduct of war. The Proceedings of the Hague Peace Conferences permit insight into the challenges that were involved in adopting the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and thus appreciation of the advance they represented over existing international law at the time.

This five-volume set, published in 1920/21 by the Carnegie Endowment's for International Peace, is the first complete, and still definitive, translation from the official French language documents and records of the two multilateral assemblies. The fifth volume is an index added in 1921.

The opening volume covers the proceedings of the 26-nation, two-month conference of 1899 in three parts. Part I is devoted to the 10 plenary sessions of the conference, including presentation of the Final Act of the Conference. The other parts cover the meetings of the Commissions or committees into which the conference divided its subjects for discussion: Part II focuses on the First Commission on the limitation of armaments; Part III deals with the Second Commission on maritime warfare and the laws and customs of war; and Part IV covers the Third Commission on mediation and arbitration.

The next three volumes, subtitled The Conference of 1907, cover the proceedings of the 44-nation, four-month Second Hague Peace Conference, which was convened to reexamine and expand the work of 1899. Major goals of this conference included elaborating on the 1899 Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, which established the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and extending the laws of war to maritime warfare. In the volumes subtitled The Conference of 1907, Volume I contains the list of participating powers and delegates, the minutes of the 10 plenary sessions, reports, and the Conventions; Volume II focuses on the First Commission, which addressed arbitration; and Volume III covers the work of the three other Commissions, which dealt with the rules of war on land, the rules of war at sea, and maritime law.

1899 Conference: Part I-IV
1907 Conference: Volume 1, 2, and 3
The Conferences of 1899 and 1907: Index Volume (1921)

U.S. Government Documents

Message from the President of the United States

• Transmitting Copies of the Geneva Conventions for Protection of War Victims; U.S. Congress 82-1, Senate Executives D, E, F, and G; 1951
• Transmitting the Protocol II Additional to the Geneva Conventions... Relating to the Protection of Victims of Noninternational Armed Conflicts; Treaty Doc.: 100-2; submitted to Senate January 29, 1987
• Transmitting the Hague Conventions for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict... Accompanying Report from the Department of State on the Convention and the Hague Protocol; Treaty Doc.: 106-1; submitted to Senate January 6, 1999

Senate Executive Report No. 9

• U.S. Congress 84-1, Report... on Executives D, E, F, and G; Report on the Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War Victims

Geneva Conventions of 1949 & Hague Convention No. IV of 1907

• October 8, 1970; Army Subject Schedule No. 27-1; published in support of AR 350-216
• August 29, 1975; Army Subject Schedule No. 27-1; published in support of AR 350-21