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Geneva Convention

American  

noun

  1. one of a series of international agreements, first made in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1864, establishing rules for the humane treatment of prisoners of war and of the sick, the wounded, and the dead in battle.


Geneva Convention British  

noun

  1. the international agreement, first formulated in 1864 at Geneva, establishing a code for wartime treatment of the sick or wounded: revised and extended on several occasions to cover maritime warfare and prisoners of war

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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On one faux demolished concrete slab hung a poster-sized page from the Geneva Convention, with rules on protecting civilians.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 19, 2026

Hints in open-source material suggest pilots learn martial-arts style kicks and that they carry small arms, and that they are trained in rules of engagement consistent with the Geneva Convention.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 5, 2026

Collective punishment of civilians, when it takes place during armed conflict, is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 1, 2026

The most recent version, the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, was adopted after the Second World War and was intended to stop the mass killing of civilians from happening again.

From BBC Jun. 4, 2025

But as I’d just pointed out, the Geneva Convention doesn’t apply to me.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

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