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The Geneva Convention of 1949 (commonly referred to as the third Geneva Convention) specifically outlines the treatment of prisoners of war. This document states that all POWs must be treated humanely. They must be protected at all times, and they cannot be mutilated or subjected to medical or scientific experiments. Beyond physical protection, POWs are entitled to respect and honor and must be protected from "insults and public curiosity." This line about public curiosity has been interpreted to mean that POWs can't be photographed, but the issue is open to debate. The matter of victims of war is muddier. The Protocol
1, added to the Geneva Conventions in 1997, does mention treatment of the remains of people who died during occupation or hostilities. All parties involved in the conflict must respect victims' remains. As soon as circumstances permit, the remains must be returned to the victim's home country upon request of the country or next of kin. Showing respect to the dead could mean prohibiting publishing photos. Treatment of POWs and war victims has been in the news recently due to the U.S.-Iraq war. The Bush Administration accused Iraq of violating the third Geneva Convention by releasing video of captured American soldiers. But the administration also released graphic images of the dead bodies of Uday (Odai) and Qusai Hussein, the sons of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Both the U.S. and Iraq signed on to the third Geneva Convention, but neither ratified Protocol I.
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