Geneva Conventions Protocol II

Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II)
Type	Protocol
Drafted	20 February 1974 – 8 June 1977
Signed	8 June 1977 (1977-06-08)
Location	Geneva
Effective	7 December 1978 (1978-12-07)
Condition	Six months after two instruments ratification or accession were deposited
Signatories	3 States[1]  Islamic Republic of Iran  Pakistan  United States of America
Parties	169 States[2]  Afghanistan  Albania  Algeria  Angola  Antigua and Barbuda  Argentina  Armenia  Australia  Austria  Bahamas  Bahrain  Bangladesh  Barbados  Belarus  Belgium  Belize  Benin  Bolivia  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Botswana  Brazil  Brunei Darussalam  Bulgaria  Burkina Faso  Burundi  Cabo Verde  Cambodia  Cameroon  Canada  Central African Republic  Chad  Chile  China  Colombia  Comoros  Congo  Costa Rica  Côte d'Ivoire  Croatia  Cuba  Cyprus  Czech Republic  DR Congo  Denmark  Djibouti  Dominica  Dominican Republic  Ecuador  Egypt  El Salvador  Equatorial Guinea  Estonia  Eswatini  Ethiopia  Fiji  Finland  France  Gabon  Gambia  Georgia  Germany  Ghana  Greece  Grenada  Guatemala  Guinea  Guinea-Bissau  Guyana  Haiti  Holy See  Honduras  Hungary  Iceland  Ireland  Italy  Jamaica  Japan  Jordan  Kazakhstan  Kenya  Kuwait  Kyrgyzstan  Lao People's Democratic Republic  Latvia  Lebanon  Lesotho  Liberia  Libya  Liechtenstein  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Madagascar  Malawi  Maldives  Mali  Malta  Mauritania  Mauritius  Micronesia (Federated States of)  Monaco  Mongolia  Montenegro  Morocco  Mozambique  Namibia  Nauru  Netherlands  New Zealand  Nicaragua  Niger  Nigeria  North Macedonia  Norway  Oman  Palau  Palestine  Panama  Paraguay  Peru  Philippines  Poland  Portugal  Qatar Republic of Korea  Republic of Moldova  Romania  Russian Federation  Rwanda  Saint Kitts and Nevis  Saint Lucia  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Samoa  San Marino  São Tomé and Príncipe  Saudi Arabia  Senegal  Serbia  Seychelles  Sierra Leone  Slovakia  Slovenia  Solomon Islands  South Africa  South Sudan  Spain  Sudan  Suriname  Sweden   Switzerland  Tajikistan  East Timor  Togo  Tonga  Trinidad and Tobago  Tunisia  Turkmenistan  Uganda  Ukraine  United Arab Emirates  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland  United Republic of Tanzania  Uruguay  Uzbekistan  Vanuatu  Venezuela  Yemen  Zambia  Zimbabwe
Depositary	Swiss Federal Council
Languages	English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, Russian
Full text
Geneva Convention/Protocol II at Wikisource

Protocol II is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. It defines certain international laws that strive to provide better protection for victims of internal armed conflicts that take place within the borders of a single country. The scope of these laws is more limited than those of the rest of the Geneva Conventions out of respect for sovereign rights and duties of national governments.

As of July 2024, the Protocol had been ratified by 169 countries, with the United States, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Israel being notable exceptions. However, the United States, Iran, and Pakistan signed it on 12 December 1977, which signifies an intention to work towards ratifying it.^[3] The Iranian signature was given prior to the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Historically, international law of armed conflict addressed traditional declarations of war between nations. When the Geneva Conventions were updated in 1949 after the Second World War, delegates sought to define certain minimum humanitarian standards to situations that had all the characteristics of war, without being an international war.^[4]

These negotiations resulted in Article 3, common to all four of the basic treaties of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Common Article 3 applies to armed conflicts that are not of an international character, but that are contained within the boundaries of a single country. It provides limited protection to victims, including:

• Persons taking no active part in hostilities should be treated humanely (including military persons who have ceased to be active as a result of sickness, injury, or detention).
• The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.

By the 1970s, diplomats were attempting to negotiate clarifications to the brief language of Article 3, and to extend the scope of international law to cover additional humanitarian rights in the context of internal conflicts. These efforts resulted in Protocol II of the Geneva Conventions. The debate over this protocol centered on two conflicting ideas.^[5] First, that the distinction between internal and international armed conflict is artificial from the point of view of a victim. Humanitarian principles should apply regardless of the identity of the combatants. Second, that international law does not apply to non-international situations. A nation has sovereignty within its borders, and must not accept judgments by and orders from other countries. And Article 6, section 2, also prohibits collective punishment.

• Geneva Conventions
• First Geneva Convention, on the treatment of battlefield casualties.
• Second Geneva Convention, on the treatment of casualties in war at sea.
• Third Geneva Convention, on the treatment of prisoners of war.
• Fourth Geneva Convention, on the treatment of civilians during wartime.
• Protocol I, a 1977 amendment adopted addressing the protection of victims in international conflicts.
• Protocol III, a 2005 amendment adopted specifying the adoption of the Red Crystal emblem.

• Committee of the Red Cross: Full text of Protocol II with commentaries
• List of countries that have signed or ratified Protocol II
• International Review of the Red Cross, 1997 – No. 320 Archived 12 October 2004 at the Wayback Machine Special issue: 20th anniversary of the 1977 Additional Protocols
• President Reagan's message to the Senate on Protocols I & II Archived 7 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine