Article 69 is the first provision in Part III, Section V of the Convention concerning relations of prisoners of war with the exterior. Articles 70–77 address a number of issues in this respect: the completion of capture cards and their forwarding to the prisoners' families and to the Central Tracing Agency; prisoners' entitlement to send and receive letters and cards and the limits that may be set on such correspondence; relief shipments; censorship of correspondence and the examination of relief consignments; and the preparation, execution and transmission of legal documents. Article 69 concerns the information that must be provided to prisoners of war and to the Powers on which they depend regarding the measures the Detaining Power has taken to implement the provisions of Section V. The failure to comply with the obligation to inform does not absolve the Detaining Power of its obligation to execute these measures.
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Article 25 lays down the standards for the living quarters of prisoners of war. It should be recalled that the internment of prisoners of war serves to restrict their movement within a certain perimeter; it is not to be equated with a penitentiary regime. Prisoners of war must be allowed to move around within that perimeter, with a certain level of self-organization. They must be accommodated in quarters, not cells. The standards for their living quarters were developed based on this understanding.
The provisions concerning insignia are important to prisoners of war. Removing insignia can be seen as an attack on their dignity and honour. Thus, Article 40 forms an integral part of the obligation to treat prisoners of war with the regard due to their rank, age and status. Wearing badges of rank also helps prisoners to maintain order and discipline among themselves.
Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention. In particular, no prisoner of war may be subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are not justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the prisoner concerned and carried out in his interest.
Prisoners' representatives play an important role. They represent prisoners of war before the military authorities and before other actors such as the ICRC; they further the well-being of prisoners of war; and they carry out a range of other duties in accordance with various provisions of the Third Convention.
The Detaining Power may compel all prisoners of war enlisted below the grade of non-commissioned officer to work. However, it is restricted in the choice of labour it may demand of them. Article 50 provides an exhaustive list of the categories of labour in which prisoners of war may be employed.
The Convention's 'testimonium', beginning by the specific formulation 'in witness whereof', provides that, in order to sign the Convention in the name of a State, the representative of that State has to have deposited full powers.
The Third Convention allows prisoners of war to maintain various forms of contact with the outside world. These include the sending and receiving of letters and cards (including capture cards), relief shipments and legal documents.
The obligation to provide for the maintenance of prisoners of war rests, as a matter of law, exclusively with the Detaining Power. Without prejudice to the continued applicability of that obligation, private relief societies may wish to offer prisoners of war additional relief supplies to further enhance their well-being. Article 125 regulates the conditions under which such societies may operate in this regard, as well as the extent to which the Detaining Power needs to allow them to carry out their humanitarian activities.
