The value of the Geneva Conventions according to the principle of humanity

a case study

Abstract

This article aims at analyzing the value of the Geneva Conventions in light of the evolution of humanitarian law from a case study. It seeks to understand the reasons and stages of humanitarian law development from the view of just war, the principle of humanity and the limitation of war by the criteria of necessity and reasonableness. The case which is being studied is described in an autobiographical book that tells the aftermath of the Japanese invasion of Singapore during the Second World War in 1942, the attack on a ship that withdrew women and children for safety reasons, which sank near the island of Sumatra. It also talks about  the treatment given to the castaways, who were taken as prisoners of war when they managed to land. The case study will point to the need for regulation of the treatment given to the out-of-combat military personnel, civilians and prisoners of war, which are the elements of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, it shed light on humanitarian law by showing the absolute need to impose limits on the way of warfare.