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9.11 GENERAL CONDITIONS IN POW CAMPS: LOCATION, SAFETY, HYGIENE, AND LIVING

CONDITIONS

9.11.1 Internment in POW Camps. The Detaining Power may subject POWs to

internment.188 It may impose on them the obligation of not leaving, beyond certain limits, the

camp where they are interned, or if that camp is fenced in, of not going outside its perimeter.189

9.11.1.1 Prohibition on Close Confinement. Subject to the provisions of the GPW

183 Refer to § 9.9.2 (Conditions of Evacuation).

184 GPW art. 20 (“If prisoners of war must, during evacuation, pass through transit camps, their stay in such camps

shall be as brief as possible.”).

185 GPW art. 24 (“Transit or screening camps of a permanent kind shall be fitted out under conditions similar to

those described in the present Section, and the prisoners therein shall have the same treatment as in other camps.”).

186 For example, 1997 MULTI-SERVICE DETENTION REGULATION § 2-1.b (“Special policy pertaining to the

temporary detention of EPW, CI, RP and other detained persons aboard United States Naval Vessels: (1) Detention

of EPW/RP on board naval vessels will be limited. (2) EPW recovered at sea may be temporarily held on board as

operational needs dictate, pending a reasonable opportunity to transfer them to a shore facility, or to another vessel

for transfer to a shore facility. (3) EPW/RP may be temporarily held aboard naval vessels while being transported

between land facilities. They may also be treated and temporarily quartered aboard naval vessels incidental to their

treatment, to receive necessary and appropriate medical attention if such detention would appreciably improve their

health or safety prospects. (4) Holding of EPW/RP on vessels must be temporary, limited to the minimum period

necessary to evacuate them from the combat zone or to avoid significant harm that would be faced if detained on

land. (5) Use of immobilized vessels for temporary holding of EPW/RP is not authorized without SECDEF