Geneva Convention Article V: Convention (V) Information Bureaux and Relief Societies for Prisoners of War

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292 1949 Geneva Convention III

. PART V — INFORMATION BUREAUX AND RELIEF SOCIETIES FOR PRISONERS OF WAR .
RELEASED IN FULL
Article 122

Upon the outbreak of a conflict and in all cases of occupation, each of the Parties to the conflict shall institute an official Informa­tion Bureau for prisoners of war who are in its power. Neutral or non-belligerent Powers who may have received within their territory persons belonging to one of the categories referred to in Article 4, shall take the same action with respect to such persons. The Power concerned shall ensure that the Prisoners of War Information Bureau is provided with the necessary accommodation, equipment and staff to ensure its efficient working. It shall be at liberty to employ prisoners of war in such a Bureau under the conditions laid down in the Section of the present Convention dealing with work by prisoners of war.
Within the shortest possible period, each of the Parties to the conflict shall give its Bureau the information referred to in the fourth, fifth and sixth paragraphs of this Article regarding any enemy person belonging to one of the categories referred to in Article 4, who has fallen into its power. Neutral or non-belligerent Powers shall take the same action with regard to persons belonging to such categories whom they have received within their territory: - •
The Bureau shall immediately forward such information by the most rapid means to the Powers concerned, through the intermediary of the Protecting Powers and likewise of the Central Agency provided for in Article 123.
This information shall make it possible quickly to advise the next of kin concerned.' Subject to the provisions of Article 17, the information shall include, in so far as available to the Informa­tion Bureau, in respect of each prisoner of war, his surname, first names, rank, army, regimental, personal or serial number, place and full date of birth, indication of the Power on whish he depends, first name of the father and maiden name of the mother, name and address of the person to be informed and the address to which correspondence for the prisoner may be sent.

The Information Bureau shall receive from the 'various depart- .
ments concerned information regarding transfers, releases, repatria­
tions, escapes, admissions to hospital, and deaths, and shall transmit
such information in the manner described in the third paragraph
above.
Likewise, information regarding the state of health of prisoners

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE
REVIEW AUTHORITY: WILLIAM E LANDFALR—

• DATE/CASE ID: 23 NOV 2004 200303827 U IN CLASSIFIED
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294 1949 Geneva Convention III
Article 125
Subject to the measures which the Detaining Powers may consider essential to ensure their security or to meet any other reasonable need, the representatives of religious organizations, relief societies, or any other organization assisting prisoners of war, shall receive from the said Powers, for themselves and their duly accredited agents, all necessary facilities for visiting the prisoners, for distributing relief supplies and material, from any source, intended for religious, educa­tional or recreative purposes, and for assisting them in organizing their leisure time within the camps. Such societies or organizations may be constituted in the territory of the Detaining Power or in any other country, or they may have an international character.
The Detaining Power may limit the number of societies and organizations whose delegates are allowed to carry out their activities in its territory and under its supervision, on condition, however, that such limitation shall not hinder the effective operation of adequate relief to all prisoners of war.
The special position of the International Committee of the Red Cross in this field shall be recognized and respected at all times.
As soon as relief supplies or material intended for the above­mentioned purposes are handed over to prisoners of war, or very shortly afterwards, receipts for each consignment, signed by the prisoners' representative, shall be forwarded to the relief society or organization making the shipment. At the same time, receipts for these consignments shall be supplied by the administrative authorities responsible for guarding the prisoners.
PART VI — EXECUTION OF THE CONVENTION
SECTION I — GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 126
Representatives or delegates of the Protecting Powers shall have permission to go to all places where prisoners of war may be, par­ticularly to places of internment, imprisonment and labour, and shall have access to all premises occupied by prisoners of war; they shall also be allowed to go to the places of departure, passage and arrival of prisoners who are being transferred. They shall be able to inter­view the prisoners, and in particular the prisoners' representatives, without witnesses, either personally or through an interpreter.
Representatives and delegates of the Protecting Powers shall have full liberty to select the places they wish to visit. The duration

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Article 68, shall form the subject of arrangements between the
Powers concerned, at the close of hostilities.
Article 68
Any claim by a prisoner of war for compensation in respect of
any injury or other disability arising out of work shall be referred
to the Power on which he depends, through the Protecting Power.
in accordance with Article 54,. the Detaining Power will, in all
cases, provide the prisoner of war concerned with a statement
showing the nature of the injury or disability, the circumstances
in which it arose and particulars of medical or hospital treatment
given for it. This statement will be signed by a responsible officer
of the Detaining Power and the medical particulars certified by
a medical officer.
Any claim by a prisoner of war for compensation in respect of
personal effects, monies or valuables impounded by the Detaining
Power under Article 18 and not forthcoming on his repatriation,
or in respect of loss alleged to be due to the fault of the Detaining
Power or any of its servants, shall likewise be referred to the Power
on which he depends. Nevertheless, any such personal effects required
for use by the prisoners of war whilst in captivity shall be replaced .
at the expense ofthe Detaining Power. The Detaining PoWer will,
in all cases, provide the prisoner of war with .a statement, signed
by a responsible officer, showing all available information regarding
the reasons why such effects, monies or valuables have not been
restored to him. A copy of this statement will be forwarded to the
Power on which he depends through the Central Prisoners of War
Agency provided for in Article 123.
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SECTION V RELATIONS OF PRISONERS OF WAR t.;.;
WITH THE EXTERIOR
Article 69
Immediately upon prisoners of war falling into its power, ,the
Detaining Power shall inform them and the Powers on which they
depend, through the Protecting Power, of the measures taken to
carry out the provisions of the present Section. They shall likewise
inform' the parties concerned of any subsequent modifications of
such measures.
Article 70
Immediately upon capture, or not more than one week after
arrival at a camp, even if it is a transit camp, likewise in case of
sickness or transfer to hospital or to another camp, every prisoner
of war shall be enabled to write direct to his family, on the one

hand, and 1 Article 123 model anm of his capt be forward any manner
Article 71
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Article 72
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Prisoners of War 271

hand, and to the Central Prisoners of War Agency provided for in
Article 123, on the. other hand, a card similar, if possible, to the
model annexed to the present Convention, informing his relatives
of his capture, address and state of health. The said cards shall
be forwarded as rapidly as possible and may not be delayed in
any manner.

Article 71
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Prisoners of war shall be allowed to send and receive letters and cards. If the Detaining Power deems it necessary to limit the number of letters and cards sent by each prisoner of war, the said number shall not be less than two letters and four cards monthly, exclusive of the capture cards provided for in Article 70, and conforming .as closely as possible to the models annexed to the present Convention. Further limitations may be imposed only if the Protecting Power is satisfied that it would be in the interests of the prisoners of war concerned to do so owing to difficulties of translation caused by the Detaining Power's inability to find sufficient qualified linguists .1.• to carry out the necessary censorship. If limitations must be placed on the correspondence addressed to prisoners of war, they may be ordered only by the Power on which the prisoners depend, possibly at the request of the Detaining Power. Such letters and cards must be conveyed by the most rapid method at the disposal of the Detain­ing Power; . they may not be delayed or retained for disciplinary
reasons.
Prisoners of war who have been without news for a long period,
or who are unable to receive news from their next of kin or to give
them news by the ordinary postal route, as well as those who are
at a great distance from their homes, shall be perniitted to send .

telegrams, the fees being charged against the prisoners of war's
accounts with the Detaining Power or paid in the currency at their
disposal. They shall likewise benefit by this measure in cases of
urgency.

As a general rule, the correspondence of prisoners of war shall
be written in their native language. The Parties to the conflict may ,

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allow correspondence in other languages.
Sacks containing prisoner of war mail must be securely sealed and
labelled so as clearly to indicate their contents, and must be addressed
to offices of destination.

Article 72
Prisoners of war shall be allowed to receive by post or by any
other means individual parcels or collective shipments containing,

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in particular, foodstuffs, clothing, medical supplies and articles of .1

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348 1949 Geneva Convention IV

concerned, committees may be set up after the close of hostilities,
or of the occupation of territories, to search for dispersed internees.
Article 134

The High Contracting Parties shall endeavour, upon the close of hostilities or occupation, to ensure the return of all internees to their last place of residence, or to facilitate their repatriation.
Article 135

The Detaining Power shall bear the expense of returning released
internees to the places where they were residing when interned, or,
if it took them into custody while they were in transit or on the
high seas, the cost of completing their journey or of their return
to their point of departure.

Where a Detaining Power refuses permission to reside in its ter­
ritory to a released internee who previously had his permanent
domicile therein, such Detaining Power shall pay the cost of the
said internee's repatriation. If, however, the internee elects to return
to his country on his own responsibility or in obedience to the
Government of the Power to which he owes allegiance, the Detain­
ing Power, need not pay the expenses of his journey beyond the
point of his departure from its territory. The Detaining Power need
not pay the cost of repatriation of an internee who was interned
at his own request.

If internees are transferred in accordance with Article 45, the
transferring and receiving Powers shall agree on the portion of the
above costs to be borne by each.

The foregoing shall not prejudice such special agreements as may be concluded between Parties to the conflict concerning the ex­change and repatriation of their nationals in enemy hands.
SECTION V -INFORMATION BUREAUX AND CENTRAL AGENCY Article 136

Upon the outbreak of a conflict and in all cases of occupation, each of the Parties to the conflict shall establish an official Informa­tion Bureau responsible for receiving and transmitting information in respect of the protected persons who are in its power. .
Each of the Parties to the conflict shall, within the shortest possible period, give its Bureau information of any measure taken by it. concerning any protected persons who are kept in custody for more than two weeks, who are subjected to assigned residence or who are interned. It shall, furthermore, require its various depart­ments concerned with such matters to provide the aforesaid Bureau

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Civilians 349
close of hostilities, ipersed internees. promptly with information concerning all changes pertaining to these protected persons, as, for example, transfers, releases, re­
patriations, escapes, admittances to hospitals, births and deaths.
upon the close of 4 rticle 137
of all internees to patriation. Each national Bureau shall immediately forward information concerning protected persons by the most rapid means to the Powers
of whom the aforesaid persons are nationals, or to Powers in whose
returning released when interned, or, transit or on the territory they resided, through the intermediary of the Protecting Powers and likewise through the Central Agency provided for in Article 140. The Bureaux shall also reply to all enquiries which
or of their return may be received regarding protected persons.
Information Bureaux shall transmit information concerning
) reside in its ter­id his permanent y the cost of the ee elects to return a protected person unless its transmission might be detrimental to the person concerned or to his or her relatives. Even in such a case, the information may not be withheld from the Central Agency which, upon being notified of the circumstances, will take the
obedience to the necessary precautions indicated in Article 140.
lance, the Detain­irney beyond the All communications in writing made by any Bureau shall be authenticated by a signature or a seal.
ining Power need Article 138
vho was interned The information received by the national Bureau and transmitted
i Article 45, the ne portion of the by it shall be of such a character as to make it possible to identify the protected person exactly and to advise his next of kin quickly. The information in respect of each person shall include at least his
surname, first names, place and date of birth, nationality, last resi­
;reements as may ncerning the ex­n ands. dence and distinguishing characteristics, the first name of the father and the maiden name of the mother, the date, place and nature of the action taken with regard to the individual, the address at which
correspondence may be sent to him and the name and address of
IX AND the person to be informed. Likewise, information regarding the state of health of internees
who are seriously ill or seriously wounded shall be supplied regularly
:s of occupation, official informa­ and if possible every week. Article 139
ting information Each national Information Bureau shall, furthermore, be responsible
ver. hin the shortest 1 measure taken kept in custody signed residence s various depart­tforesaid Bureau Q. for collecting all personal valuables left by protected persons men­tioned in Article 136, in particular those who have been repatriated or released, or who have escaped or died; it shall forward the said valuables to those concerned, either direct, or, if necessary, through the Central Agency. Such articles shall be sent by the Bureau in sealed packets which shall be accompanied by statements giving clear and full identity particulars of the person to whom the articles
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