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

The wars winners enforce it on the losers at the conclusion of hostilities.

If both belligerents are relatively weak, a more powerful third party may enter the conflict under the pretense of enforcing Geneva conventions – like the Balkan wars in the 1990s.

A powerful nation only follows them as necessary to placate their allies. There is no enforcement, nor is any nation realistically capable of enforcing it against a superpower.

Armies do have *some* incentive to behave, so that their own prisoners are treated well in kind and enemy soldiers and civilians are less likely to fight to the bitter end. You get a lot less last-stand heroics and kamikaze bombers if they think they’re free to surrender.

There are also semi-formal agreements to avoid certain tactics so that they’re not used against you – Hitler was personally injured by a poison gas attack in WWI and had a tacit agreement with allied forces during WWII to not deploy them.