On March 1, 1947, the U.S. stated that the SEPs should be regarded as POWs and be treated in accordance with the Geneva conventions.
[1] The designation of SEP allowed the Royal Navy to use the German command structure to facilitate the disbandment of the Kriegsmarine.
[2] In the Malayan Emergency the UK also used the definition SEP, alongside Captured Enemy Personnel (CEP).
The distinction made was that SEP were insurgents who surrendered to the British,[3] while Captured Enemy Personnel were not.
Both[verification needed] designations were treated as prisoners of war.