The Fourth Geneva Convention is a multilateral treaty, officially titled the Geneva Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (GCIV). It is one of the four treaties that constitute the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which form the core of international humanitarian law (IHL).
The convention was adopted on 12 August 1949, and came into force on 21 October 1950. It was created to solve the problem of inadequate protection for civilians during wartime, a gap made tragically clear by the experiences of World War II. While the first three Geneva Conventions focused on combatants, GCIV was the first to deal specifically with the humanitarian protection of civilians in the hands of a party to the conflict or an Occupying Power.
The convention, which contains 159 articles, works by establishing a framework for the humane treatment of civilians in armed conflict and occupied territories. Article 3, common to all four conventions, establishes minimum protections for persons not taking an active part in hostilities, even in non-international armed conflicts. Key provisions mandate that civilians be protected from murder, torture, and brutality. It explicitly prohibits the transfer of the population of an occupying power into the territory it occupies. Article 147 specifies "grave breaches," such as wilful killing, torture, and unlawful deportation, which are considered war crimes. The convention also protects the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The Fourth Geneva Convention is intrinsically connected to the other 1949 Geneva Conventions and the subsequent 1977 Additional Protocols. Its application is increasingly understood as part of an integrated framework with international human rights law (IHRL) and international criminal law (ICL).
The convention itself has not been replaced or amended, but the ICRC released an Updated Commentary in 2025 to clarify its application in contemporary conflicts. This commentary integrates over 75 years of state practice and legal developments, ensuring the convention's rules are understood in light of modern realities like urban warfare and new technologies. For instance, the prohibition on exposing protected persons to "public curiosity" is now interpreted to extend to digital and social media.