Vatican City, Aug 11, 2019 / 08:14 am
Pope Francis marked the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions Sunday with a message urging the protection of life and human dignity in armed conflicts.
"Let us not forget that war and terrorism are always a serious loss for all humanity," Pope Francis said Aug. 11 after his Angelus prayer.
The Geneva Conventions are "important international legal instruments that impose limits on the use of force and are aimed at the protection of civilians and prisoners in times of war," Francis said.
Signed amid the aftermath of World War II on August 12, 1949, the four Geneva Conventions expanded international humanitarian law for the protection of civilian populations during war and further defined protocols for the humane treatment of prisoners of war, as well as for the wounded and the sick.