Geneva Convention

An international treaty that determines protection for the sick and wounded, prisoners, and civilians during times of war.

Concluded by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1864 in Geneva, Switzerland. Revisions were added and four Geneva Conventions were concluded in 1949 as a result on the Second World War. In 1977, two supplementary protocols were added.

As international humanitarian law, the Convention is respected throughout the world, and the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 have been ratified by 192 countries.

As well as forbidding execution, torture, and intimidation of prisoners of war, on the basis that "prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated", the Conventions also forbid "the participation of private enterprises or soldiers in armed conflicts that do not involve one's own country, for the purpose of personal profit".