Common article 3

This article can be found in each of the four Geneva Conventions. The provisions in this article are applicable in in non-international armed conflicts. It provides fundamental IHL rules that aim to protect persons who are not, or who are no longer, taking an active part in hostilities. The provisions of common Article 3 are considered to be customary IHL. As such, they represent minimum standards that warring parties must, under all cicumstances, comply with.