Human Rights & Humanitarian Law

Status of the Protocols Additional
to the Geneva Conventions of 1949
and relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts

General Assembly Resolution A/RES/45/38
48th Plenary Session, 28 November 1990

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 32/44 of 8 December 1977, 34/51 of 23 November 1979, 37/116 of 16 December 1982, 39/77 of 13 December 1984, 41/72 of 3 December 1986 and 43/161 of 9 December 1988,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on the status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts,

Convinced of the continuing value of established humanitarian rules relating to armed conflicts and the need to respect and ensure respect for these rules in all circumstances within the scope of the relevant international instruments, pending the earliest possible termination of such conflicts,

Stressing the need for consolidating and implementing the existing body of international humanitarian law and for the universal acceptance of such law,

Mindful of the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross in offering protection to the victims of armed conflicts,

Noting with appreciation the continuing efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross to promote and to disseminate knowledge of the two additional Protocols,

1. Appreciates the virtually universal acceptance of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the increasingly wide acceptance of the two additional Protocols of 1977;

2. Notes, however, the fact that, in comparison with the Geneva Conventions, the number of States parties to the two additional Protocols is still limited;

3. Appeals to all States parties to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 that have not yet done so to consider becoming parties also to the additional Protocols at the earliest possible date;

4. Calls upon all States becoming Parties to Protocol I to consider making the declaration provided for under article 90 of that Protocol;

5. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session a report on the status of the additional Protocols based on information received from Member States;

6. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its forty-seventh session the item entitled "Status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts".