White flag of surrender

The white flag is the internationally recognized sign of truce, cease-fire, negotiation, and surrender. Its use dates back to antiquity, with recorded examples in Roman and Carthaginian warfare, and it became widespread in medieval Europe as a signal of capitulation or parley. Its modern legal status was codified in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and later reaffirmed in the Geneva Conventions, which protect those bearing it and prohibit its misuse.