12 Things From the Geneva Convention That Apparently Weren’t Off-Limits Before
War is hell. Very, very slightly less than it used to be, however, thanks in big part to the Geneva Convention and its protocols. Because even in the worst situations humans can find themselves in, it turns out we were starting to go a little overboard. Here are 12 things that, thankfully, the world (mostly) agreed were a little too evil for everybody…
Pillaging
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Thanks to the Geneva Convention, in a decision that would have Vikings in absolute shambles, pillaging conquered territory is forbidden. You can still raid, of course, but upon victory, you’re not allowed to loot and rob your brand new land.
Weapons Causing Superfluous Injury or Suffering
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This one always feels a little strange, given that murder is still A-OK. According to international law, if you’re going to use weapons on someone, it better be capable of finishing them off — and in a timely fashion.
Expanding Bullets
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Get ready for the world’s darkest physics lesson! If you’ve ever heard of “hollow-point” bullets, that’s what we’re talking about here. They’re bullets engineered in such a way that once they enter a target, they expand or flatten, at which point, well, imagine the difference between hurling a baseball into a big block of Jell-O versus a jagged piece of metal you found on the ground.
Poison Gas
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I’m pretty sure everyone knows this is a no-no. Otherwise, every war zone would just look like the world’s deadliest sprinkler system.
Bacteriological Warfare
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I’m assuming because, after the last one, the most terrifying person in the world raised their hand and asked, “Yes, but is a horrible disease technically a poison?”
Impersonating Protected Aid
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Most people probably know the rules prohibiting attacking, for example, the Red Cross. Of course, that necessitated another rule saying “and you can’t just say that you’re the Red Cross.”
Long-Term Environmental Destruction
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Basically, a bunch of countries coming together to say, “Okay, can we all agree to stop salting each other’s fields, because we can’t grow shit?,” or the modern equivalent.
You Can’t Force Occupied Civilians to Fight for You
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This isn’t one of those phone game ads where you get to “x2” or “+100” your army every time you pass a checkpoint.
Prisoners of War Can’t Be Subjected to ‘Public Curiosity’
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My guess here is that they don’t just mean the public seeing prisoners of war and going, “How curious!”
Prisoners of War Must Be Released at the End of the Conflict
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Yeah, this is a pretty good ground rule. You don’t want to tempt any country, even modern ones, with free labor.
No Medical Experiments on Prisoners of War
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Pursuant to the last rule, when it’s time for them to go free, they shouldn’t be glowing because you were doing CRISPR on them.
No Forced Sterilization
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Just… gonna leave this one alone. Not great!
