protective sign

Protective signs are symbols to be used during an armed conflict to mark persons and objects under the protection of various treaties of international humanitarian law (IHL). While their essential meaning can be summarized as "Don't shoot!" or "Don't attack!", the exact conditions implied vary depending on the respective sign and the circumstances of its use. The form, shape and color of these signs are defined by the rules of IHL. Usually, they are easy to draw in order to make even an improvised use as easy as possible, and they were chosen to be as concise, recognizable and visible as possible under all circumstances.