What was claimed
The US was not a signatory to the Geneva Convention.
Our verdict
The US signed and ratified the four Conventions of 1949 and Protocol III of 2005. It did not ratify Protocols I and II of 1977, but did sign them.
Sky News corrects report about the US and the Geneva Conventions
In an article about whether the US would be committing a war crime if it targeted civilian infrastructure in Iran, Sky News claimed the US is not a signatory to “the Geneva Convention”.
That isn't quite right, and we’re grateful to Sky News for correcting its article after Full Fact got in touch. In fact, the US did sign and ratify the original four Geneva Conventions of 1949. However, it only signed, but never ratified the 1977 Protocol I to the Conventions, which contained the clause about civilian objects not being the “object of attack or reprisals” that Sky News cited.
The Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols are international treaties that are supposed to limit “the barbarity of war”. They aim to protect civilians, medics and aid workers who do not take part in the fighting, as well as wounded, sick and shipwrecked troops and prisoners of war.
The United States also signed and ratified Protocol III of 2005, but only signed and did not ratify Protocols I and II of 1977. In 2024, the White House commemorated the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Geneva Conventions.
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Sky has since updated its article to refer to a different international agreement. It now says: “The Rome Statute, which the UK is a signatory to, but the US never ratified, prohibits ‘intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects’.”
It’s true that the US never ratified the Rome Statute—the treaty that founded the International Criminal Court. The US signed the Rome Statute in 2000, but did not submit the treaty to the Senate for ratification. In 2002 the US government indicated it did not intend to ratify it and had no obligations towards it.
The current administration argues that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction over the US because the US is not a party to the Rome Statute or an ICC member.