The Geneva Convention was created to protect the rights of prisoners of war after World War 1. Its official name is the Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The Geneva Convention was signed on the 27th of July 1929 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Convention was created by the Red Cross as after the First World War as they found The Hague Conventions, which had been signed pre-war had failed due to many loopholes and lack of precision. 47 countries signed the Convention those countries who did not sign included the Soviet Union.
Articles 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Geneva Convention refer to who qualifies as a lawful combatant and therefore can be classified as a Prisoner of war. The articles also include clauses stating that the …show more content…
The Empire of Japan Signed but did not ratify the convention so prisoners were not treated within these laws. While under the Germans the Western Allied Power POWs death rates were relatively low, Western POW’s held by the Japanese army had a death rate of approximately 27.1%, seven times that of the Germans and Italian’s. The Chinese POWs had an even higher death rate. After World War 2 only 56 of the up to 6 million Chinese POWs were released. 37,583 British and Commonwealth POWs were also eventually released. There are many documented accounts of mistreatment in the Japanese war camps ranging from beheadings to cannibalism. The Japanese soldiers often participated in mass murders of entire units and many villages. Historian Mitsuyoshi Himeta wrote of a policy named Sankō Sakusen, meaning ‘Three All’s Policy’. This included the three components of “Kill All, Burn All, and Loot All” sanctioned by Hirohito. They would essentially massacre, rape the captured soldiers or villagers then burn any buildings and take any belongings of value. Examples of this include the Alexandra Hospital massacre in Singapore and the Bataan Death March. The Japanese army were also infamous for their participation in biological warfare and human experimentation. Many prisoners died of diseases such as bubonic plague, cholera and anthrax. They would subject POWs to frostbite and remove each of their limbs until only their head and torso remained when they would be killed. They also were reported to perform vivisections and were subjected to weapons testing. It is approximated around 580,000 people died from experiments like these. At least one case occurs in Japan. A US Army Air forces plane crash and at least nine people survived. They were taken to the anatomy department of Kyushu University were they were vivisected. Documents in the Australian National Archives documents showed that cyanide gas was tested on Australian and
Articles 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Geneva Convention refer to who qualifies as a lawful combatant and therefore can be classified as a Prisoner of war. The articles also include clauses stating that the …show more content…
The Empire of Japan Signed but did not ratify the convention so prisoners were not treated within these laws. While under the Germans the Western Allied Power POWs death rates were relatively low, Western POW’s held by the Japanese army had a death rate of approximately 27.1%, seven times that of the Germans and Italian’s. The Chinese POWs had an even higher death rate. After World War 2 only 56 of the up to 6 million Chinese POWs were released. 37,583 British and Commonwealth POWs were also eventually released. There are many documented accounts of mistreatment in the Japanese war camps ranging from beheadings to cannibalism. The Japanese soldiers often participated in mass murders of entire units and many villages. Historian Mitsuyoshi Himeta wrote of a policy named Sankō Sakusen, meaning ‘Three All’s Policy’. This included the three components of “Kill All, Burn All, and Loot All” sanctioned by Hirohito. They would essentially massacre, rape the captured soldiers or villagers then burn any buildings and take any belongings of value. Examples of this include the Alexandra Hospital massacre in Singapore and the Bataan Death March. The Japanese army were also infamous for their participation in biological warfare and human experimentation. Many prisoners died of diseases such as bubonic plague, cholera and anthrax. They would subject POWs to frostbite and remove each of their limbs until only their head and torso remained when they would be killed. They also were reported to perform vivisections and were subjected to weapons testing. It is approximated around 580,000 people died from experiments like these. At least one case occurs in Japan. A US Army Air forces plane crash and at least nine people survived. They were taken to the anatomy department of Kyushu University were they were vivisected. Documents in the Australian National Archives documents showed that cyanide gas was tested on Australian and