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==Origin==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Anglo-French, from ''hoste''
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_century 13th Century]
==Definitions==
*1a : a [[person]] held by one party in a [[conflict]] as a pledge pending the fulfillment of an [[agreement]]
:b : a person taken by [[force]] to secure the taker's demands
*2: one that is involuntarily [[controlled]] by an outside [[influence]]
==Description==
A '''hostage''' is a [[person]] or entity which is held by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as [[security]] for the carrying out of an [[agreement]], or as a preventive measure against certain [[acts]] of [[war]]. However, in contemporary usage, it means someone who is seized by a [[criminal]] abductor in order to compel another party such as a [[relative]], employer, law enforcement, or [[government]] to act, or refrain from acting, in a particular way, often under threat of serious [[physical]] [[harm]] to the hostage(s) after expiration of an ultimatum.
A person who seizes one or more hostages is known as a hostage-taker; if the hostages are present voluntarily, then the receiver is known as a [[host]].
Taking hostages is today considered a [[crime]] or an act of [[terrorism]]; the use of the word in this sense of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping abductee] became current only in the 1970s. The criminal activity is known as [[kidnapping]]. An acute situation where hostages are kept in a building or a vehicle that has been taken over by armed terrorists or common criminals is often called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostage_crisis hostage crisis].
The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Convention_against_the_Taking_of_Hostages International Convention against the Taking of Hostages]—which prohibits hostage taking and [[mandates]] the punishment of hostage takers—was adopted by the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly United Nations General Assembly] in 1979. The treaty came into force in 1983 and has been ratified by all but 24 of the member states of the United Nations.
Hostage taking is still often politically [[motivated]] or intended to raise a ransom or to enforce an exchange against other hostages or even condemned convicts. However in some countries hostage taking for [[profit]] has become an "industry", ransom often being the only demand.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostage]
==See also==
*'''''[[Kidnapping]]'''''
[[Category: Law]]
==Origin==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Anglo-French, from ''hoste''
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_century 13th Century]
==Definitions==
*1a : a [[person]] held by one party in a [[conflict]] as a pledge pending the fulfillment of an [[agreement]]
:b : a person taken by [[force]] to secure the taker's demands
*2: one that is involuntarily [[controlled]] by an outside [[influence]]
==Description==
A '''hostage''' is a [[person]] or entity which is held by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as [[security]] for the carrying out of an [[agreement]], or as a preventive measure against certain [[acts]] of [[war]]. However, in contemporary usage, it means someone who is seized by a [[criminal]] abductor in order to compel another party such as a [[relative]], employer, law enforcement, or [[government]] to act, or refrain from acting, in a particular way, often under threat of serious [[physical]] [[harm]] to the hostage(s) after expiration of an ultimatum.
A person who seizes one or more hostages is known as a hostage-taker; if the hostages are present voluntarily, then the receiver is known as a [[host]].
Taking hostages is today considered a [[crime]] or an act of [[terrorism]]; the use of the word in this sense of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping abductee] became current only in the 1970s. The criminal activity is known as [[kidnapping]]. An acute situation where hostages are kept in a building or a vehicle that has been taken over by armed terrorists or common criminals is often called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostage_crisis hostage crisis].
The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Convention_against_the_Taking_of_Hostages International Convention against the Taking of Hostages]—which prohibits hostage taking and [[mandates]] the punishment of hostage takers—was adopted by the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly United Nations General Assembly] in 1979. The treaty came into force in 1983 and has been ratified by all but 24 of the member states of the United Nations.
Hostage taking is still often politically [[motivated]] or intended to raise a ransom or to enforce an exchange against other hostages or even condemned convicts. However in some countries hostage taking for [[profit]] has become an "industry", ransom often being the only demand.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostage]
==See also==
*'''''[[Kidnapping]]'''''
[[Category: Law]]
