Geneva Conventions

The closest thing to a global standard for the ethical conduct of war can be found in the protocols known as the Geneva conventions. They emerged out of a sense of common humanity and moral revulsion at the human consequences of war in the second half of the 19th century. Although concern for moral restraint in war can be traced back through Islamic and Christian teaching, the Geneva conventions codified and globalized the principles by which war can and should be limited by internationally recognized, globally accepted norms. First conceived in an era when interstate wars were fought between armies deployed on open battlefields, the scope of these conventions has enlarged in tandem with the evolution of modern warfare.