Geneva Conventions Broader than Reported

In an article purporting to "make sense of the latest Gitmo controversies," Time magazine reporters Daniel Eisenberg and Timothy J. Burger falsely asserted that because "[t]he U.S. considers none of the detainees [held at Guantànamo Bay, Cuba] prisoners of war," this "means they do not enjoy rights under the Geneva Convention". But while the United States has not classified the Guantànamo detainees as POWs, non-POWs are also entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions. In fact, legal experts have concluded that the conventions provide varying levels of protection to all persons in enemy hands.
From the article "What's going on at Gitmo?" in the May 29 edition of Time:

The U.S. considers none of the detainees prisoners of war, which means they do not enjoy rights under the Geneva Convention, which protects POWs from indefinite imprisonment and aggressive interrogation. Because the detainees allegedly targeted civilians and did not belong to a conventional army --or, in the case of the Taliban, did not serve under a legitimate government, in the U.S.'s view --Washington classifies them as unlawful or enemy combatants, a decision that numerous critics vehemently disagree with.

While the Third Geneva Convention details the protections to which POWs are entitled, the Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV) stipulates different protections for "civilian persons in a time of war," as Media Matters for America has repeatedly noted. The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) -- the organization that pioneered the concept of international humanitarian law and has monitored compliance with the Geneva Conventions for more than 140 years -- has argued that the so-called "unlawful enemy combatants" currently detained at Guantànamo Bay are entitled to protections under GCIV. Its 2003 legal analysis titled "The legal situation of 'unlawful/unprivileged combatants" concluded that "unlawful combatants" are entitled to "the right to 'humane treatment' as defined in Articles 27 and 37 [of GCIV], and thus the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment; as well as the fair trial rights contained in Articles 71-76 [of GCIV]."