Second Geneva Convention

The Second Geneva Convention, formally the Geneva Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea and abbreviated GCII, is one of the four treaties of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. It was first adopted in 1949 and replaced the Hague Convention (X) of 1907. It adapts the main protective regime of the First Geneva Convention, which covers wounded soldiers on land, to combat at sea. The convention is a lengthy document of 63 articles. Articles 12 and 18 require all parties to protect and care for the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, article 21 allows appeals to neutral vessels to help collect and care for them, articles 36 and 37 protect religious and medical personnel serving on a combat ship, and article 22 forbids using hospital ships for any military purpose and protects them from attack or capture. There are currently 196 countries party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, including this second treaty.