Article: Geneva Conventions turn 60.

8/12/2009 1:14:32 PM

The Geneva Convention for the protection of those wounded in war was signed in 1949 [AFP]

On August 12, 1949, in the aftermath of one of the most devastating conflicts the world had ever seen, something extraordinary happened.

Representatives of 64 countries, some of which had been at war with each other just four years earlier, came together in Geneva and signed an international agreement to protect those caught in conflict.

The four Geneva Conventions have become the foundation of today's laws of war, providing protection for wounded members of armed forces in the field and at sea, prisoners of war and civilians.

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