Knowra Geneva Conventions Geneva Conventions The Geneva Conventions are treaties that set humanitarian protections for people affected by armed conflict, including wounded and sick combatants, prisoners of war, and civilians.
International humanitarian law : The body of international law that limits the effects of armed conflict and protects people who are not, or are no longer, fighting. The Conventions are a central part of this broader body of law.
Common Article 3 : A shared minimum set of protections for people not actively participating in hostilities during non-international armed conflicts. It extends fundamental humane-treatment rules to civil wars and other internal conflicts.
Battle of Solferino : An 1859 battle in northern Italy whose wounded soldiers and inadequate medical care inspired reform of wartime relief. The suffering at Solferino helped prompt the movement that produced the first Geneva Convention.
Second Geneva Convention : The treaty protecting wounded, sick, and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea and medical personnel. It adapts protections for the wounded to naval warfare and shipwreck.
Hague Conventions : Treaties that regulate the conduct of war, including means and methods of warfare and the rights and duties of belligerents. They are commonly contrasted with the Geneva Conventions' emphasis on protecting people affected by war.
Armed conflict : Organized hostilities between states or between states and organized armed groups, governed by international humanitarian law. The Conventions apply through rules that distinguish international from non-international conflicts.
Distinction (international humanitarian law) : The rule requiring parties to distinguish civilians and civilian objects from combatants and military objectives. The Conventions' civilian protections operate alongside this core conduct-of-hostilities rule.
Henry Dunant : A Swiss humanitarian whose account of the Battle of Solferino helped inspire the Red Cross movement and the first Geneva Convention. Dunant's advocacy helped turn battlefield relief into an international treaty project.
Third Geneva Convention : The treaty establishing protections and treatment standards for prisoners of war. It governs capture, detention, communication, and release of prisoners of war.
Customary international humanitarian law : Unwritten rules of international humanitarian law derived from sufficiently general state practice accepted as law. Customary rules can complement treaty protections, including where a state is not party to a treaty.
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