A/HRC/4/20 page 23 33 “Army Officer Convicted in Iraqi’s Death Is Freed”, New York Times, April 2, 2005. 34 “‘Mercy killing’ of Iraqi revives GI conduct debate”, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 5, 2004. 35 Id. 36 Id. 37 “U.S. soldier convicted in ‘mercy killing’”, Desert News (Salt Lake City), Jan. 15, 2005. 38 “Army Officer Calls for Death In Slaying Case”, New York Times, September 3, 2006. 39 Geneva Convention I, 1949, Art. 12. Article 12 of Geneva Convention II contains an equivalent prohibition concerning wounded or shipwrecked at sea. 40 ICRC Commentary to the First Geneva Convention of 1949, p. 138. 41 Id. 42 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (1977), Art. 75(2)(a)(i). The Commentary to this provision states explicitly that “cases in which the status of prisoner of war or of protected person were denied to certain individuals, the protection of Article 75 must be applied to them as a minimum”. Commentary to the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, p. 866, para. 3014. For a similar situation with respect to another provision of the Geneva Conventions (Fourth Geneva Convention, Art. 4), See Congo v. Uganda, I.C.J. Reports 2005, Judgment of 19 Dec. 2005, Separate Opinion of Judge Simma, para. 26 (“The gap thus left by Geneva Convention Article 4 has in the meantime been - deliberately - closed by Article 75 of Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949.”). 43 Protocol I, Art. 8(a). As the ICRC Commentary makes clear, the Protocol therefore “does not retain the distinction made between these two categories by the Conventions as regards the wounded and sick. On this basis a wounded soldier and a wounded civilian are entitled to identical protection.” Commentary to Protocol I, p. 117, para. 304. See also First Additional protocol to the Geneva Conventions, Article 10. 44 Case Concerning Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America), 1986 I.C.J. Reports, p. 114, para. 218. 45 Geneva Conventions of 1949, Common Article 3. 46 Additional Protocol II, Art. 7(1). 47 Additional Protocol II, Art. 8.