Geneva Conventions

by Gary D. Solis, Fred L. Borch (Introduction)

In 1859, Henry Dunant, a Swiss citizen, witnessed the horrific aftermath of the Battle of Solferino, in which thousands of wounded soldiers lay abandoned, dying in excruciating pain. Four years later, in 1863, he convened an international conference in Geneva, Switzerland, to form a medical relief organization for assisting the wounded during wartime and protecting medical relief personnel. This was the first Geneva Convention and the birth of the International Red Cross.

 

Since then, after major global conflicts in which the nature and conduct of wars have evolved, there have been three additonal Geneva Conventions. The latest was held in 1949 just after the end of World War II. Taken together, the Conventions set the standards for international law and humanitarian concerns regarding the treatment of non-combatants and prisoners of war. Nearly 200 nations, virtually every state in the world, have signed and accepted these as the code of conduct.

Until now, the Conventions have only been available to the public online, with no published book on the market. With an introduction by Gary Solis, and explanatory notes and annotations throughout, this edition will be an essential guide for anyone interested in the conduct of wars as well as the many controversies swirling around Guantanamo Bay and Abu Gharaib.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Amazon, Ebooks

320 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2010

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Geneva Conventions is the entire text of the 4 Geneva Conventions of 1949, with minimal commentary. In other words, it was a bit dry but I learned some key knowledge about some of the principles of international humanitarian law, which was my objective in reading this. The part of the book I disliked the most was the introductory commentary. While the introduction provided a nice brief history on international law, the author had a very clear pro-American bias in his interpretation of the history. The bias was so strong in some aspects that it nearly delegitimized the book for me. However, when he provided the commentary for the actual conventions, I found nothing but the most objective interpretations possible, which saved the credibility of the book, in my opinion. Overall, if you want to know about the landmark Geneva Conventions of 1949, this book is for you.

[Lawrence]

An important reference with a timely and relevant introduction. A must-read for anyone following the debate on the legality and quality of John Yoo et. al.'s OLC opinions.

[Elly]

http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/CONVPRES?...

[Lrpj]

The reference.

Interested in IHL issues:

http://larevuedepressejuridique.org/