ANC becomes signatory to the Geneva Convention of 1949 and Protocol 1 of 1977

Updated: 30 Sep 2019

At a ceremony at the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, the African National Congress (ANC) President, Oliver Tambo, declared the organisation a signatory to the Geneva Convention of 1949 and Protocol 1 of 1977 on the humanitarian conduct of war. Clause 1 of this protocol says; “The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against dangers arising from military operations. To give effect to this protection, the following rules, which are additional to other applicable rules of international law, shall be observed in all circumstances.” The Geneva Convention was the body of international law that was aimed at regulating the conduct of armed conflict and to limit its effects.

How we know this

01nelsonmandela, ‘ANC becomes signatory to the Geneva Convention’, [online], available at www.nelsonmandela.org.za [Accessed: 11 October 2012]
02ICRC, ‘International Humanitarian Law - Treaties & Documents’, [online], available at www.icrc.org [Accessed: 11 October 2012]
03ICRC, ‘The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols’, [online], available at www.icrc.org [Accessed: 11 October 2012]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2012, November 22). ANC becomes signatory to the Geneva Convention of 1949 and Protocol 1 of 1977. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094290

South African History Online (2012) 'ANC becomes signatory to the Geneva Convention of 1949 and Protocol 1 of 1977', South African History Online, 22 November. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094290 (Accessed: 15 October 2026).

South African History Online, ANC becomes signatory to the Geneva Convention of 1949 and Protocol 1 of 1977 [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094290, (accessed 15 October 2026).

"ANC becomes signatory to the Geneva Convention of 1949 and Protocol 1 of 1977." South African History Online, 22 Nov. 2012, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094290. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "ANC becomes signatory to the Geneva Convention of 1949 and Protocol 1 of 1977." South African History Online. November 22, 2012. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094290.