Editing Fourth Geneva Convention (section)

=== Article 4: Definition of protected persons ===
Article 4 defines who is ''[[Protected persons|protected person]]'':

{{blockquote|Persons protected by the Convention are those who, at a given moment and in any manner whatsoever, find themselves, in case of a conflict or occupation, in the hands of a Party to the conflict or Occupying Power of which they are not nationals.}}

It explicitly excludes "Nationals of a State which is not bound by the Convention" and the citizens of a [[neutral country|neutral state]] in the territory of a belligerent power or nationals of a [[Co-belligerence|co-belligerent]] state (i.e., [[alliance|allied]] nation) if that state has normal [[diplomatic relations]] "within the State in whose hands they are." Dr. Ola Engdahl wrote "[t]he purpose of excluding [these] nationals from the category of protected persons was that they could rely on diplomatic protection of the state of nationality. Persons are either protected persons under the convention or can benefit from the diplomatic protection of their state of nationality."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OzV4n3DphsAC&pg=PA106|title=Protection of Personnel in Peace Operations: The Role of the "safety Convention" Against the Background of General International Law|author=Ola Engdahl|date=2007|page=106|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|isbn=9-7890-0415-4667}}</ref> 

A number of articles specify how ''protecting powers'', ''[[International Committee of the Red Cross|ICRC]]'' and ''other [[humanitarian organization]]s'' may aid ''protected persons''.

The definition of ''protected person'' in this article is arguably the most important article in this section because many of the articles in the rest of GCIV only apply to ''protected persons''.