Who is protected by the Geneva Conventions?

I'm having difficulty understanding the wording of the different treaties and would like someone to help clarify. Who does it apply to?

Originally posted by replicators
I'm having difficulty understanding the wording of the different treaties and would like someone to help clarify. Who does it apply to?

Wikipedia article on the Geneva Conventions

The best definition I've heard yet is uniformed combatants of a declared war are protected by the Geneva Convention.

The Geneva convention was held directly after WWII where the treaties were signed. It is a meeting of the top world leaders and minds of the world. What does it mean when you ask "Who it protects" ?

I know it regulates the treatment of prisoners of war, but it also deals with "enemy combatants," what does it define an enemy combatant as?

The treaty also talks about the law of war, is there a standard set of rules that apply to any country.

Well yes 'rules of engagement'. For instance how to treat prisoners of war, civilians etc.. The treaty was signed by almost ALL the countries in the world, if not all of them(I am not sure)So lets say one of the countries in the treaty broke one of the rules, than all the other countries would hold a court. Its basically like a court, but for war. If you get pulled over get a ticket etc etc etc.. You go to court blah blah blah. Same thing with a country if they break a rule of the treaty than they stand court and figure out a proper punishment. Germany was levied a fine of massive proportions after WWII, a fine they are still paying to this day, to the U.S. none the less because the U.S. was the one that let Germany borrow the money(with intrest of course :cool So there you go, if you have any more questions ask, and I will see if I can answer them.