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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Do the Geneva Conventions apply to recent unrest in Portland or other US cities?

By Allegra Taylor
NO

The Geneva Conventions are a series of agreements between nations that ensure humane treatment of aid workers, civilians and wounded or captured soldiers in wartime. The universally ratified Geneva Conventions were adopted in 1949.

Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions applies to domestic, or non-international, armed conflicts. In order for a domestic conflict to be considered such a conflict, certain criteria must be met, including the presence of an organized armed group that meets a minimum degree of organization and violence that reaches a “minimum level of intensity.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross has clarified that there is a difference between these conflcits and lesser domestic disturbances, such as “riots, isolated and sporadic acts of violence and other acts of a similar nature,” which are not considered armed conflicts.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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