United States of America
Practice Relating to Rule 112. Search for and Collection of the Dead
The US Field Manual (1956) reproduces Article 15 of the 1949 Geneva Convention I.
The US Air Force Pamphlet (1976) refers to Article 15 of the 1949 Geneva Convention I.
The US Operational Law Handbook (1993) states: “The LOW [law of war] requires Parties to a conflict to search for the dead”.
The Annotated Supplement to the US Naval Handbook (1997) provides that the requirement for parties to the conflict, after each engagement and without delay, to take all possible measures to search for and collect the wounded and sick “also extends to the dead”.
The US Naval Handbook (2007) states: “As far as military exigencies permit, after each [naval] engagement all possible measures should be taken without delay to search for … and to recover the dead.”
The US Manual on Detainee Operations (2008) states:
Legal Considerations
a. As a subset of military operations, detainee operations must comply with the law of war during all armed conflicts, however such conflicts are characterized, and in all other military operations …
…
c. The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 are fully applicable as a matter of international law to all military operations that qualify as international armed conflicts … The principles reflected in these treaties are considered customary international law, binding on all nations during international armed conflict. Although often referred to collectively as the “Geneva Conventions,” the specific treaties are:
(1)
[1949] Geneva Convention [I] … This convention … provides for the collection of dead persons.
In 1987, the Deputy Legal Adviser of the US Department of State affirmed: “We support … the principle that each party to a conflict permit teams to search for … and recover the dead from the battlefield.”
According to the Report on US Practice, it is the
opinio juris of the United States that all possible measures should be taken to search for the dead.