Protocol on Incendiary Weapons

Protocol on Incendiary Weapons
Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the use of Incendiary Weapons
ContextConvention on Certain Conventional Weapons
Effective2 December 1983 (1983-12-02)
Condition20
Parties126, As of January 2023[1]
DepositaryUN Secretary-General
LanguagesArabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish

The Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the use of Incendiary Weapons is a United Nations treaty that restricts the use of incendiary weapons. It is Protocol III to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed To Be Excessively Injurious Or To Have Indiscriminate Effects. Concluded in 1981, it entered into force on 2 December 1983.[2][3] As of January 2023, it had been ratified by 126 state parties.[1]

Incendiary weapons as a category does not appear to include thermobaric weapons, and international law does not appear to prohibit the use of thermobaric munitions against military targets.[4][5] Their use against civilian populations or infrastructure may be banned by this Protocol.[6] As of November 2022, all past attempts to regulate or restrict thermobaric weapons have failed.[7][5]

  1. ^ a b "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 (With Protocols I, II And III)" (PDF). United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 1342. p. 137. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons (Protocol III). Geneva, 10 October 1980". International Committee of the Red Cross. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  3. ^ D. Schindler and J. Toman, The Laws of Armed Conflicts, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1988, pp.190-191.
  4. ^ "Ukraine's ambassador to US says Russia used a vacuum bomb, international groups say banned cluster munitions used to strike shelter". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b Hanson, Marianne (2 March 2022). "What are thermobaric weapons? And why should they be banned?". The Conversation. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  6. ^ Dunlap, Charlie (27 February 2022). "The Ukraine crisis and the international law of armed conflict (LOAC): some Q & A". Lawfire. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  7. ^ Seidel, Jamie (27 February 2022). "Father of all bombs': Russia's brutal weapon". news.com.au. Retrieved 11 March 2022.