The Geneva Conventions

The brutal killing of Nick Berg and the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal may have you wondering whether there are any rules to war. <br/><br/>The Geneva Conventions established an international set of rules,

Wednesday, May 12th 2004, 12:21 pm

By: News On 6

The brutal killing of Nick Berg and the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal may have you wondering whether there are any rules to war.

The Geneva Conventions established an international set of rules, but just what applies and what doesn't. News on 6 anchor Scott Thompson has a breakdown of the Geneva Conventions.

The entire world is supposed to be playing by the same set of rules when it comes to war. It's called the Geneva Conventions. The goal is define what's legal even in times of war. The Geneva Conventions were laid out in 1949 in Geneva, Switzerland, but many of these rules date back as far as the 1800s.

The first and second conventions aim to protect the wounded and sick on the battlefield and at sea. The third provides for humane treatment of prisoners of war. And the fourth aims to shield civilians in times of war from direct attack.

The international arm of the Red Cross, acts as a world-wide watch dog to make sure these rules are followed. The Geneva Conventions try to offer specific protections for civilians and soldiers. But the lines become blurred in cases such as the Iraqi prisoner abuses.

Some say the rules don't apply to rebel groups, but only to the organized military. And although 187 nations signed the Geneva Conventions, some countries follow them, other countries donâ€™t.

Bob Roberts, Tulsa Chapter of the Red Cross: "this is something you learned in the sandbox in kindergarten just because bobby does it doesnâ€™t mean that you have to do it. So I would hope that the US, the Red Cross movement, and society as a whole would hold themselves to a higher standard."

To see what is in The Geneva Conventions, CLICK HERE.