Geneva Conventions
original document from 1864
In his televised news conference last night, Barack Obama mentioned the “Geneva Conventions” when asked about the former president’s treatment of prisoners.
The Geneva Conventions are a collection of four international treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland. According to ICRC.org, they
“contain the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war. They protect people who do not take part in the fighting (civilians, medics, aid workers) and those who can no longer fight (wounded, sick and shipwrecked troops, prisoners of war).”
The treaties were first signed in 1864 but later revised and expanded in 1949. Since then, additional protocols were added in 1977 and 2005 dealing with additional conflicts, but when you hear “Geneva Conventions” uttered by a politician, it’s usually in reference to the proper treatment of prisoners of wars. Almost every country has signed off on the treaties, giving a kind of “rulebook” for wartime.
Read on:
ICRC.org – includes the complete version of each Convention and Protocol
Wikipedia – Geneva Conventions
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment