This is the official edition of an important U.S. Army field manual (FM) dealing with "the law of land warfare" and such important topics as: Rules and Principles of the Law of Land Warfare Hostilities Prisoners of War – Persons entitled and not entitled to be treated as POWs Wounded and Sick Civilians Occupation War Crimes Geneva Conventions In the first chapter, it states: "The purpose of this Manual is to provide authoritative guidance to military personnel on the customary and treaty law applicable to the conduct of warfare on land and to relationships between belligerents and neutral States. Although certain of the legal principles set forth herein have application to warfare at sea and in the air as well as to hostilities on land, this Manual otherwise concerns itself with the rules peculiar to naval and aerial warfare only to the extent that such rules have some direct bearing on the activities of land forces. This Manual is an official publication of the United States Army. However, those provisions of the Manual which are neither statutes nor the text of treaties to which the United States is a party should not be considered binding upon courts and tribunals applying the law of war. However, such provisions are of evidentiary value insofar as they bear upon questions of custom and practice. The conduct of armed hostilities on land is regulated by the law of land warfare which is both written and unwritten. It is inspired by the desire to diminish the evils of war by: Protecting both combatants and noncombatants from unnecessary suffering; Safeguarding certain fundamental human rights of persons who fall into the hands of the enemy, particularly prisoners of war, the wounded and sick, and civilians; and Facilitating the restoration of peace." This manual is produced by Headquarters, US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).