Treaties, States parties, and Commentaries - Geneva Convention (IV) on Civilians, 1949 - 130

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Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949.

Burial. Cremation

ARTICLE 130

The detaining authorities shall ensure that internees who die while interned are honourably buried, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged, and that their graves are respected, properly maintained, and marked in such a way that they can always be recognized.
Deceased internees shall be buried in individual graves unless unavoidable circumstances require the use of collective graves. Bodies may be cremated only for imperative reasons of hygiene, on account of the religion of the deceased or in accordance with his expressed wish to this effect. In case of cremation, the fact shall be stated and the reasons given in the death certificate of the deceased. The ashes shall be retained for safe-keeping by the detaining authorities and shall be transferred as soon as possible to the next of kin on their request.
As soon as circumstances permit, and not later than the close of hostilities, the Detaining Power shall forward lists of graves of deceased internees to the Powers on whom the deceased internees depended, through the Information Bureaux provided for in Article 136

. Such lists shall include all particulars necessary for the identification of the deceased internees, as well as the exact location of their graves.

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Commentaries
- Commentary of 1958