"We tortured some folks." - @BarackObama pic.twitter.com/htwKucKi2H
— Mini (@miniestmini) August 7, 2014
Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of
Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949.
In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed ' hors de combat ' by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.
To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and
in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
(b) taking of hostages;
(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.
(2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.
(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.
(2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.
Ratification / Accession:
02.08.1955
Reservation / Declaration: 02.08.1955;04.03.1975;31.12.1974
Reservation / Declaration: 02.08.1955;04.03.1975;31.12.1974
United States of America
Reservation
made upon signature and maintained upon ratification:
Mr. VINCENT, Minister of the United States of America in Switzerland, on
signing the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in
Time of War of August 12, 1949, made the following declaration:
"The Government of the United States fully supports the objectives
of this Convention.
"I am instructed by my Government to sign, making the following
reservation to Article 68:
"The United States reserve the right to impose the death penalty in
accordance with the provisions of Article 68, paragraph 2, without regard to
whether the offences referred to therein are punishable by death under the law
of the occupied territory at the time the occupation begins"
SOURCE: Final Record of the Diplomatic Conference of Geneva of 1949, Vol.I,
Federal Political Department, Berne, p.346.
It looks like Article 68 is irrelevant to torture.
