The Geneva Conventions are a set of four treaties of international law. They were formulated in Geneva, Switzerland. All of the four treaties are about humanitarian issues. The first treaty was the product of Swiss activist, Henri Dunant in 1859. The documents require that all states who sign them create national laws to make violations of the Geneva Conventions a crime.
The first Convention, adopted in 1864, was devoted to care for the injured in battle, and required medical teams on the battlefield to provide aid to enemy combatants. The Second Convention, adopted in 1949, expanded the scope of the first treaty to marine battles. The Third Convention, adopted in 1929, addressed the treatment of prisoners of war. The Fourth Convention, adopted in 1949, expanded the scope of the third convention to include civilians. Later conferences have added text that forbids certain methods of warfare.
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