Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects | |
---|---|
Type | Arms control |
Drafted | 10 October 1980 |
Signed | 10 April 1981 |
Location | Geneva, Switzerland |
Effective | 2 December 1983 |
Original signatories | 50 States |
Parties | 127[1] Complete List |
Depositary | UN Secretary-General |
Languages | |
Full text | |
Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons at Wikisource |
The
Objectives
The aim of the Convention and its protocols is to provide new rules for the protection of
CCWC includes five
CCWC lacks verification and enforcement mechanisms and spells out no formal process for resolving compliance concerns. A state-party can refute its commitment to the convention or any of the protocols, but it will remain legally bound until one year after notifying the treaty depositary, the UN Secretary-General, of its intent to be free of its obligations.[citation needed]
Adoption and entry into force
The CCWC consist of a set of additional protocols first formulated on October 10, 1980, in Geneva and entered into force on December 2, 1983. As of the end of September 2023, there are 127 state parties to the convention.[1] Some of those countries have only adopted some of the five protocols, with two being the minimum required to be considered a party.[3]
The convention has five protocols:
- Protocol I restricts weapons with non-detectable fragments
- Protocol II restricts booby traps
- Protocol III restricts incendiary weapons
- Protocol IV restricts blinding laser weapons (adopted on October 13, 1995, in Vienna)
- Protocol V sets out obligations and best practice for the clearance of explosive remnants of war, adopted on November 28, 2003, in Geneva[4]
Protocol II was amended in 1996 (extending its scope of application), and entered in force on December 3, 1998. The amendment extended the restrictions on landmine use to internal conflicts; established reliability standards for remotely delivered mines; and prohibited the use of non-detectable fragments in anti-personnel landmines (APL). The failure to agree to a total ban on landmines led to the Ottawa Treaty.[5]
Protocol I: Non-Detectable Fragments
Protocol I on Non-Detectable Fragments prohibits the use of any weapon the primary effect of which is to injure by fragments which are not detectable in the human body by X-rays.[2][6] The reason is that such fragments are difficult to remove and cause unnecessary suffering. The protocol applies when the "primary effect" is to injure by non-detectable fragments and does not prohibit all use of e.g. plastic in weapons design.[7]
Protocol II: Mines, Booby Traps and Other Devices
Protocol II on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices was amended on May 3, 1996, to strengthen its provisions and extend the scope of application to cover both international and internal
Protocol III: Incendiary Weapons
Protocol III on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons prohibits, in all circumstances, making the civilian population as such, individual civilians or civilian objects, the object of attack by any weapon or munition which is primarily designed to set fire to objects or to cause burn injury to persons through the action of
Protocol IV: Blinding Laser Weapons
Protocol IV on Blinding Laser Weapons prohibits the use of laser weapons specifically designed to cause permanent
Protocol V: Explosive Remnants of War
Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War requires the clearance of
Other proposals
As of 2017, the CCW has failed to achieve consensus to open negotiations on adding a compliance mechanism to help ensure parties honor their commitments. China and Russia have opposed restrictions on anti-vehicle mines, such as a requirement that such mines self-deactivate.[15] In the 2010s the CCW opened talks on restricting lethal autonomous weapons.[16] As of 2021, most of the major powers oppose an international ban on lethal autonomous weapons.[17]
See also
- United Nations Commission on Conventional Armaments, earlier attempt at regulation
References
- ^ a b United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs: Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects: Status of the Treaty
- ^ a b c d e f g "1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons – Factsheet". International Committee of the Red Cross. March 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- ^ "1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and its Protocols -Ratification kit". International Committee of the Red Cross. March 31, 2004. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- ^ "Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords. January 5, 2004. col. WA11–WA12. Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- S2CID 145266359.
- ^ "Protocol I to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects". United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ "Rule 79. Weapons Primarily Injuring by Non-Detectable Fragments". International Committee of the Red Cross. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ "Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices as amended on 3 May 1996". United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ "Rule 84. The Protection of Civilians and Civilian Objects from the Effects of Incendiary Weapons". International Committee of the Red Cross. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ "Protocol III to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects". United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ "Additional Protocol to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects (Protocol IV, entitled Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons)". United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ "1995 Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons". Weapons Law Encyclopedia. Geneva Academy. June 23, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ "Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects (Protocol V)". United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ "Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War (Protocol V to the 1980 CCW Convention), 28 November 2003". International Committee of the Red Cross. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ "Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) At a Glance | Arms Control Association". www.armscontrol.org. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ^ "Autonomous weapons are a game-changer". The Economist. January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ^ Khan, Jeremy (2021). "The world just blew a 'historic opportunity' to stop killer robots". Fortune. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
Several states, including the U.S., Russia, the United Kingdom, India, and Israel, were opposed to any legally binding restrictions... China has supported a binding legal agreement at the CCW, but has also sought to define autonomous weapons so narrowly that much of the A.I.-enabled military equipment it is currently developing would fall outside the scope of such a ban.