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Geneva Conventions Sixty Years On: Changing War, Changing Law

Adam Roberts, August 2009

The World Today, Volume 65, Number 8/9

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The sixtieth anniversary of the four Geneva Conventions on the protection of war victims is an occasion for both celebration and taking stock. There is much to cheer, but there is also a huge question about the relevance of the conventions to the ever-changing phenomenon of war. Many western leaders have suggested that they need to be re-negotiated.However, by little-noticed process of common law, theConventions have already adapted, although incompletely, to changes inwar.The question now is: should there be further adaptation or a completely new convention?