The Conventions and Their Agreements
The Geneva Conventions are rules that apply in times of armed conflict and seek to protect people who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities, these include the sick and wounded of armed forces on the field, wounded, sick, and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea, prisoners of war, and civilians.The first convention dealt with the treatment of wounded and sick and occurred largely because of the motivations of Henri Dunant, after he saw and published a book about the inadequate treatment of wounded and sick men at the battlefield of Solferino. The second convention was proposed to add aid to sick, wounded, and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea. The third convention dealt with the treatment of prisoners of war during times of conflict; the conflict in Vietnam greatly contributed to this revision of the Geneva Convention. The fourth Geneva convention dealt with the treatment of civilians and their protection during wartime.
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Famous quotes containing the words conventions and/or agreements:
“What people don’t realize is that intimacy has its conventions as well as ordinary social intercourse. There are three cardinal rules—don’t take somebody else’s boyfriend unless you’ve been specifically invited to do so, don’t take a drink without being asked, and keep a scrupulous accounting in financial matters.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“Were it not for the corruption and viciousness of degenerate men, there would be no ... necessity that men should separate from this great and natural community, and by positive agreements combine into smaller and divided associations.”
—John Locke (1632–1704)