Actually, I should have read the full text of the relevant part of the Geneva Conventions before replying, not just the bullet points
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/appli...2563cd00434156
Quote:
|
1804 The various conditions enumerated sub-paragraphs (a) to (f) are cumulative, and should consequently all be met for the person concerned to qualify as a mercenary.
|
So all six conditions need to be met. So the original author's assertion that Gurkhas meet 'many' of the criteria is pointless. They need to meet them all. Which they don't (a, c, e, and f don't apply)
Some formations, most of which have been mentioned here, also get a specific namecheck as NOT being mercenaries
Quote:
Sub-paragraph (a) -- Being especially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict
1805 This condition excludes volunteers who enter service on a permanent or long-lasting basis in a foreign army, whether as a result of a purely individual enlistment (French foreign Legion, Spanish Tercio) or an arrangement concluded by their national authorities (for example, the Nepalese Ghurkhas in India, the Swiss Guards of the Vatican).
|