geneva convention

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun A convention signed by the great continental powers and by Great Britain, in 1864 and 1865, providing for the neutrality of ambulances and hospitals, and for the protection of sanitary officers, military and naval chaplains, and citizens rendering help to the sick and wounded, the same to be free from capture.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun an agreement first drawn up in Geneva in 1864 and later revised concerning the treatment of captured and wounded military personnel and civilians in wartime