CHAPITRE V.-Des convois d'évacu- CHAPTER V.-Convoys of evacua 1 A convoy of evacuation is any assemblage of vehicles and personnel employed for the transport of the sick or wounded. se chargeant des malades et ing himself with the care of the blessés qu'il contient. sick and wounded whom it contains. 2o. Dans ce cas, l'obligation de renvoyer le personnel sanitaire, prévue à l'article 12, sera étendue à tout le personnel militaire préposé au transport ou à la garde du convoi et muni à cet effet d'un mandat régulier. L'obligation de rendre le matériel sanitaire, prévue à l'article 14, s'appliquera aux trains de chemins de fer et bateaux de la navigation intérieure spécialement organisés pour les évacuations, ainsi qu'au matériel d'aménagement des voitures, trains et bateaux ordinaires appartenant au service de santé. Les voitures militaires, autres que celles du service de santé, pourront être capturées avec leurs attelages. Le personnel civil et les divers moyens de transport provenant de la réquisition, y compris le matériel de chemin de fer et les bateaux utilisés pour les convois, seront soumis aux règles générales du droit des gens. CHAPITRE VI.-Du signe distinctif. ART. 18. Par hommage pour la Suisse, le signe héraldique de la croix rouge sur fond blanc, formé par interversion des couleurs fédérales, est maintenu comme emblème et signe distinctif du service sanitaire des armées. ART. 19. Cet emblème figure sur les drapeaux, les brassards, ainsi que sur tout le matérial se rattachant au service sanitaire, avec la permission de l'autorité militaire compé tente. 2. In this case the obligation to return the sanitary personnel, as provided for in article 12, shall be extended to the whole military personnel detailed for the transport or protection of the convoy and furnished with an order in due form to that effect. The obligation to return the sanitary matériel, as provided for in article 14, shall apply to railway trains and vessels intended for interior navigation which have been especially equipped for evacuation purposes, as well as to the matériel belonging to the sanitary service used to equip ordinary vehicles, trains, and vessels. Military vehicles, with their teams, other than those belonging to the sanitary service, may be captured. The civil personnel and the various means of transport obtained by requisition, including railway matériel and the boats utilized for convoys, shall be subject to the general rules of the law of nations. CHAPTER VI.-Distinctive emblem. ART. 18. Out of respect to Switzerland the heraldic emblem of the red cross on a white ground, formed by the inversion of the federal colors, is continued as the emblem and distinctive sign of the sanitary service of armies.1 ART. 19. This emblem appears on flags and brassards as well as upon all matériel appertaining to the sanitary service, with the permission of the competent military authority. 1 Reservation made by Turkey as to article 18. To use the red crescent instead of the red cross. 1 "The brassard must be worn on the left arm, and it must also be securely attached, as there would be a grave disadvantage in having it too easily attached and removed." Actes de la Conférence de Revision, p. 261. 1 Reserve made by Great Britain as to article 23. "It has often been shown that the Geneva Convention has not been carried out, mainly because of the ignorance of those whose particular duty it was to apply the rules. It is important to remind the Governments that it is their bounden duty to spread the knowledge of the Convention in the army; not waiting until the time of war to do so. It is necessary to enter upon the education of the soldier seriously and he CHAPITRE VIII. De la répression CHAPTER VIII. Repression of des abus et des infractions. abuses and infractions. must be made to understand fully that he is directly interested in being humane and in respecting hospitals and the medical personnel. The medical personnel, official or unofficial, must not only know their privileges but likewise the duties which are their counterpart. They must be penetrated with the idea that they are spared certain rigorous consequences of the laws of war for a special purpose and that they must not avail themselves of their privileged situation for any other end. Special mention has been made of the protected personnel because their task is peculiarly delicate and because it is far easier to teach a soldier not to fire upon an ambulance than it is to prescribe the line of conduct of a medical officer in case he falls into the hands of the enemy. For all those whose high mission it is to defend their country, there is a moral force quite as indispensable as a physical, if the duty which is imposed by modern opinion, to reconcile in the fullest measure possible, military necessity and the use of force with the demands of justice and humanity, is to have a chance to be fulfilled." Actes de la Conférence de Revision, p. 264. 1 Reserve made by Great Britain as to article 27. |