The four Geneva Conventions aim to protect persons who are not, or are no longer, participating in hostilities (civilians, wounded, prisoners of war).

Convention I protects wounded or sick soldiers on the battlefield. It provides for:

• The obligation to take in, care for, and protect the wounded and sick without discrimination.
• Respect for military hospitals, ambulances, and medical personnel bearing the emblem of the Red Cross or Red Crescent.

Convention II pursues the same objectives as Convention I, but at sea. It provides for:

• The obligation to rescue shipwrecked persons.
• Respect for hospital ships bearing the emblem of the Red Cross or Red Crescent.

Convention III protects prisoners of war against ill-treatment. It provides for:

• The obligation to treat prisoners humanely.
• The prohibition of physical or moral torture, reprisals, and medical experiments.
• The right to correspond with families and to assistance from the ICRC.
• The obligation to provide food, shelter, and care.

Convention IV protects civilians in times of war. It provides for:

• The prohibition of forced deportations, hostage-taking, and collective punishments.
• The obligation to provide food, medical care, and protection.
• Special protection for children, pregnant women, and the elderly.
• Access to the ICRC and humanitarian organizations.
• The prohibition for the occupying power to transfer its own population into the occupied territory.