Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

tection against harsh treatment, insult or any manifestation of disrespect in any way related to their sex. They shall be suitably and decently quartered, and provided with lavatories, bathing facilities, and other similar necessities quite separate from those provided for males.

2. Protection After Capture

Article 32

Prisoners of war shall be sent back as soon as possible after capture to collecting camps, which shall be at least 30 kilometers from the front line of the Captor State. In no case shall prisoners of war be kept nearer to the front line than 30 kilometers, unless on account of wounds or sickness they would incur greater danger by being moved than by remaining.

Seriously wounded prisoners of war shall be given competent medical care without delay, and as soon as circumstances permit shall be removed to a hospital.

Article 33

In so far as practicable prisoners of war shall be grouped in camps, working detachments, and quarters with prisoners of war of the same State of Origin; and prisoners of war other than officers shall, whenever possible, be assigned to a camp containing at least 100 men from their own State of Origin.

Every prisoner of war not an officer shall be assigned to a prisoner of war camp having a Camp Help Committee composed of prisoners of war of his own State of Origin, and he shall be informed of this assignment.

Article 34

Special camps for noncommissioned officers shall not be established.

3. Notification of Capture

Article 35

The name, individual number, rank or rating, and military or naval organization of every prisoner of war shall be notified within one month of capture to the competent authorities of the Captor State and be transmitted as soon as possible to the State of Origin.

Article 36

The Contracting Parties will do all in their power to insure that news in regard to the location of prisoners of war or missing belligerents shall be telegraphed to the State of Origin through the intermediary of the designated Relief Societies.

The following are the designated Relief Societies:

(a) For the United States of America: American Red Cross, Berne, Switzerland.

(b) For Germany: The Frankfort Red Cross, Committee for German Prisoners of War, Telegraphic Address: Gefangenenhilfe-Frankfurtmain.

Article 37

Prisoners of war may send to their families within one week after capture a printed post card containing the news of their capture and information regarding their state of health.

Prisoners of war may within three days after assignment to a prison camp communicate to their families by means of a printed post card the address at which letters, post cards, remittances and parcels may be sent them. This provision shall also apply to all cases where prisoners of war are transferred from one prison camp to another.

The communications mentioned in the two preceding paragraphs, for which the necessary writing material is to be furnished to prisoners of war by the Captor State, shall be forwarded as quickly as possible and without delay; they shall not be counted in the authorized maximum of letters and post cards.

In the case of American prisoners of war these communications shall be addressed in care of the American Red Cross, Berne, Switzerland.

4. Equipment and Organization of Camps

Article 38

Quarters provided for troops of the Captor State shall form in hygienic as well as other respects the standard for the housing of prisoners of war in prisoner of war camps. The points mentioned in Annex 2 in regard to camps for officers and in Annex 3 in regard to camps for prisoners other than officers represent minimum requirements below which equipment and organization in the camps shall not

fall. To whatever extent local conditions allow, the minimum requirements prescribed for main camps for prisoners other than officers shall be applicable to working detachments; and in all instances irrespective of local or other conditions the minimum requirements as to clothing, equipment and blankets, as stipulated in Annex 3, shall at least be met.

Prisoners of war shall be protected against the inclemencies of the weather to the same extent as members of the armed forces of the Captor State.

Article 39

The minimum requirements must be fulfilled within three months at most after this agreement goes into force, unless new buildings or changes in buildings are necessary. In such cases a further delay of six weeks is permissible.

Article 40

In camps for officers, the senior officer prisoner of war, and in camps for prisoners of war other than officers, the senior in rank on the Camp Help Committee, shall have the right to inform the diplomatic representative of the Protecting Power as to whether the minimum requirements have actually been complied with. This information may be given at any time after the expiration of the period for which provision is made in Article 39.

The reports shall be handed to the Camp Commandant and shall be forwarded by the latter through official channels to the diplomatic representative of the Protecting Power, together with such comments as appear appropriate and necessary.

If the Camp Commandant considers the report unfounded, the Government of the Captor State shall request the diplomatic representative of the Protecting Power to send a delegate to the camp immediately. The report of such delegate is to be communicated to the Governments of the Captor State and of the State of Origin.

5. Work

Article 41

The Captor State may utilize the labor of prisoners of war, officer prisoners of war excepted, according to their grade and rating, aptitude, and physical ability.

Article 42

Prisoners of war shall neither be required to perform, nor by menaces, threats or force coerced into volunteering to perform, any work directly related to the operations of the war.

Neither Contracting Party shall utilize prisoners of war of the other for work in mines, marshes, munition factories or for dangerous work in quarries.

Article 43

Prisoners of war may be employed only at a distance of at least thirty kilometers from the front line of the Captor State.

Article 44

Prisoners of war subject to compulsory work under the provisions of this agreement may be required to work for the public service of the Captor State, or for private persons or private corporate interests, or they may be authorized to work on their own account.

All work performed by prisoners of war shall be under the supervision of the Captor State. The Captor State shall retain full obligation and responsibility for the proper care, maintenance, pay and treatment of all prisoners of war who may be hired out to work for private persons or private corporate interests.

Article 45

Prisoners of war shall not be worked longer hours than the civil population engaged in similar work in the same locality, and except in cases of emergency the working day shall not be longer than ten hours, including whatever time is consumed in passing to and from work.

An interval of one hour, which will not be counted as working time, shall be allowed for the midday meal. Adequate time and opportunity for attending to calls of nature shall be given.

Article 46

Prisoners of war who work shall be allowed one full day's rest of 24 hours in each seven days; this rest day shall be the calendar Sunday whenever practicable. When, however, emergency conditions require work on Sunday, the day of rest shall be accorded as soon as practicable thereafter and in no event shall the interval between

successive rest days be longer than nine days, nor shall there be more than one such nine-day interval in each 30 days.

Article 47

When prisoners of war, from the nature of their work, are exposed to special dangers or sickness, special preventive measures shall be taken.

Article 48

Prisoners of war shall be classified by the attending medical officer according to their ability to work without injury to their health in the following categories:

(a) heavy work,

(b) light work,

(c) no physical work,

(d) sick-no work.

Classified lists, certified by the medical officer, shall be kept by the camp authorities. Where circumstances require, as for instance transfer from one camp to another, prisoners of war shall be accompanied by a certificate showing their classification for work.

Article 49

The following prisoners of war are exempted from all forms of compulsory work:

(a) Aviation cadets, officer candidates, field clerks, and other appointed officers of the American army and navy;

(b) "Offizier-Stellvertreter" and "Beamtenstellvertreter" and "Faehnriche" of the German army and navy, "Deckoffiziere," "ViceDeckoffiziere," and "Hilfs-Deckoffiziere" of the German navy.

Article 50

American noncommissioned officers and naval petty officers and German Unteroffiziere and Offiziersanwaerter, except those mentioned in Article 49, are exempted from compulsory work, except:

(a) For the supervision of prisoners of war of their own armed forces while at work.

(b) For checking and distributing mail matter and packages. (c) For clerical work.

(d) For work which is absolutely necessary for the maintenance

« AnteriorContinuar »