The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties and three additional protocols that set the standards in international law for humanitarian treatment of the victims of war. The singular term Geneva Convention refers to the agreements of 1949, negotiated in the aftermath of World War II, updating the terms of the first three treaties and adding a fourth treaty. The language is extensive, with articles defining the basic rights of those captured during a military conflict, establishing protections for the wounded, and addressing protections for civilians in and around a war zone. The treaties of 1949 have been ratified, in whole or with reservations, by 194 countries (see country).
The Agreements
- Advice for the Evil Overlord:
- Shooting is not too good for my enemies.
- Advice for the Hero:
- If my Mentor is slain in combat with the Evil Overlord or his henchmen, I will withdraw quietly, instead of shouting "Noooooo!" at the top of my lungs.
- Advice for the Bad Auxiliary Character (Evil Overlord's Accountant):
- Do not bother the Evil Overlord with the details of finances; math bores him. Simply remember his net worth at any given moment and be prepared to supply that figure on demand.
- Advice for the Good Auxiliary Character (Good Guy's Sidekick):
- If the Hero is fated to slay certain entities, the Evil Overlord in particular, this means that I will not slay them, and I should avoid trying.
- The "safety" switch on my personal blaster and laser sword will in fact be a "reverse" or "overload" switch.
- Further Evil (Miscellaneous Evil Resolution):
Murphy's Laws of Combat
- Military Intelligence is a contradiction.
- There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.
- Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it only makes it worse.
- Once you open a can of worms, the only way to recan them is to use a larger can.
- Things will get worse before they will get better -- and who said things would get better?