eli5 How does the Geneva convention work? How can it be enforced if nations are already at war? What incentive do armies have for following it?

Question

I mean there are no referees on the battlefield.

In: 3

Answer 1

Treaties a nation has chosen to approve are part of the laws of the nation. It’s not legal to break them, or order someone else to break them. Doing so holds criminal penalties enforced by the military you are part of.

So the incentive not to break the rules of war, as a solider or officer, is not going to prison. A nation agrees to and enforces these rules because they are reciprocal and morally correct.