It entered into force on 5 March 1970 but was suspended indefinitely in 1995. It also argues that while an absolute ban would have the greatest humanitarian impact, countries should at least prohibit the use of incendiary weapons in populated areas and consider outlawing use against people, whether civilian or soldier. 110-22, 110th Congress, 2d Session); Advice and consent to ratification by . Since the letter opened for signature in November 2021, it has been signed by the following 54 individuals and 8 organizations across 11 countries: Air-Dropped Incendiary Weapons. The President transmits treaties to the Senate for its consideration and potential approval of a resolution of ratification. 1(3)). Incendiary weapons also start fires that can destroy homes, damage critical infrastructure and crops, and kill livestock. Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities Resolution 1996/16, International peace and security as an essential condition for the enjoyment of human rights, above all the right to life: the need to curb the production and the spread of weapons of mass destruction or with indiscriminate effect, in particular fuel-air bombs, napalm, See also, Report by the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to Sub-Commission resolution 1996/16, UN doc. (Arts. The ogive is the curved part of the projectile that starts at the point and ends where the projectile becomes cylindrical. What rounds were used in WW2? (Article 19) Under the 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings it is an offence for any person to deliver or detonate an incendiary weapon or device into or against a place of public use, a State or government facility, a public transportation system or an infrastructure facility with intent to cause death, serious bodily injury, or extensive destruction. Flame fougasses can act like flame throwers or incendiary mines. The burning of the incendiary substance and secondary fire consume oxygen from the surrounding air and emit large quantities of carbon monoxide. Because all incendiary weapons cause the same effects, this arbitrary and outdated distinction should be eliminated. It can also be used to create smokescreens, through shells, bombs, or grenades. The Protocol places restrictions on the use of incendiary weapons as a means or method of warfare during an international armed conflict. Because munitions containing incendiary substances can be used for incendiary and for other purposes (for example to create smoke), the Protocols definition of an incendiary weapon has in recent years been subject to debate. E/CN.4/SUB.2/RES/1997/36 (1997) and Human rights and weapons of mass destruction, or with indiscriminate effect, or of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering, Working paper submitted by Y.K.J. The purpose of incendiary weapons is to set fire and burn people. However, the use of incendiary projectiles against aircraft is not prohibited under the 1922 Hague Rules on Air Warfare (never adopted in legally binding form). Human Rights Watch, 'Memorandum to Convention on Conventional Weapons Delegates: The Human Suffering Caused by Incendiary Munitions', March 2011; SIPRI. ), Toxic Chemical under the CWC means Any chemical which through its chemical action on life processes can cause death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals. In 1944, the Soviet Air Force dropped tons of incendiary bombs on Helsinki, and the Allied forces dropped the first napalm bombs on Tinian Island. The inadequacies of health care available in armed conflict settings exacerbate the already difficult process of treating serious burns. The Geneva Disarmament Conference of 1932-1933 gave considerable attention to the question of incendiary weapons. E/CN.4/SUB.2/RES/1997/36 (1997) and. It applied to the use of projectiles specifically intended to cause fires (with some qualifications), as well as to the use of appliances designed to attack persons by fire.League of Nations doc. Napalm-type incendiaries stick to and burn hot on the human body for an extended time (10-15 minutes), leading to extensive burns prone to infection. A range of rights protected under international human rights law are put at risk by the use of incendiary weapons, including the right to life. Consonant with general international humanitarian law (IHL) rules governing the conduct of hostilities, the Protocol also prohibits attacks on any military objective located within a concentration of civilians by means of incendiary weapons other than air-delivered incendiary weapons, except when such military objective is clearly separated from the concentration of civilians and all feasible precautions are taken with a view to limiting the incendiary effects to the military objective and to avoiding, and in any event to minimizing, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects.Art. The protocol also prohibits the use of air-delivered incendiary weapons against military targets within a concentration of civilians, and limits the use of incendiary weapons delivered by other means. Use of air-dropped incendiary weapons, including so-called vacuum bombs or fuel-air explosives (FAEs), have also been recorded in Syria. Incendiary weapons inflict the most severe kinds of burns. According to the ICRC,State practice establishes as a norm of customary international law applicable in international, and arguably also in non-international, armed conflicts that. (Article 1(2)). 35 and 52(2). to pyrotechnics not normally likely to cause fires; III.to projectiles of all kinds which, though capable of producing incendiary effects accidentally, are not normally likely to produce such effects; IV. For this reason, burns on only 10% of the body are often fatal.Human Rights Watch, 'Memorandum to Convention on Conventional Weapons Delegates: The Human Suffering Caused by Incendiary Munitions', March 2011; SIPRI, Incendiary Weapons, 1975, 198 and Appendix 4A. See ICRC, Practice in relation to Rule 70. Incendiary weapons are munitions that produce fire through a chemical reaction. In view of the toxic and asphyxiating effects of many incendiaries, the 1925 Geneva Gas Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and Bacteriological Methods of Warfare also requires consideration.Report of the UN Secretary-General, Napalm and other Incendiary Weapons and all Aspects of their Possible Use, 1973, 192. The 1980 Protocol III on Incendiary Weapons of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons restricts use of incendiary weapons as a means or method of warfare during armed conflict. As of May 2021, it has been adopted by 125 state parties. Incendiary Weapons: Human Cost Demands Stronger Law (Geneva) - The horrific burns and life-long suffering caused by incendiary weapons demand that governments urgently revise existing treaty standards, Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School's International Human Rights Clinic said in a report jointly published today. Rethinking Slavery and Freedom in Islamic Law. In 1972, the General Assembly adopted a resolution characterising incendiary weapons as a category of arms viewed with horror, and in 1973, the United Nations Secretary-General issued a detailed report on Napalm and other Incendiary Weapons and all Aspects of their Possible Use, which called for the prohibition of napalm and other incendiary weapons.UN General Assembly Resolution 2932 (XXVII) of 29 November 1972; Napalm and other Incendiary Weapons and all Aspects of their Possible Use: Report of the Secretary-General; UN doc. The Commission noted that even if it were proved that the Argentine military had used such weapons, it cannot be said that their use in January 1989 violated an explicit prohibition applicable to the conduct of internal armed conflicts at that time, as Argentina had ratified CCW Protocol III only in 1995, and because the temporal scope of the CCW was limited to international armed conflict, and did, hence, not directly apply to the internal hostilities at La Tablada. See also, UN doc. Concluded in 1981, it entered into force on 2 December 1983. The only US policy . The combustion process can produce and sustain very high temperatures. Upon expression of consent to be bound by CCW Protocol III, the United States of America (USA) reservedthe right to use incendiary weapons against military objectives located in concentrations of civilians under certain conditions. Thus, the enemy either burns or asphyxiates due to the lack of oxygen available to breath. Massive use of incendiary weapons can also have long-term ecological consequences, which can be severe and are largely unpredictable. The Court, found that the alleged perpetrators were State agents, that no justification had been provided for the agents actions, and that there had been a violation of the applicants property rights under Article 1 of Protocol No. Article 2 of CCW Protocol III places a number of restrictions on the use of incendiary weapons, as defined in its Article 1. E/CN.4/1995/89 (1995) 8 March 1995. Report of the Secretary-General, Napalm and Other Incendiary Weapons and all Aspects of Their Possible Use, UN doc. S/PRST/1994/69; U.N. Doc. See also UN doc. Over time, extensive scarring tightens muscle tissue and creates physical disabilities. This includes all such chemicals, regardless of their origin or of their method of production, and regardless of whether they are produced in facilities, in munitions or elsewhere. The greatest advantage of the flamethrower is it ability to penetrate small openings and fill fortified positions with both fire and smoke. That makes them not only. The definitions scope is limited by the requirement that the weapon or munition must be primarily designed to act through flame and/or heat, but it is broad in that it includes weapons from flame throwers, shells, rockets, and grenades, to mines, bombs and other containers of incendiary substances. In its 1956 Draft Rules for the Limitation of the Dangers incurred by the Civilian Population in Time of War, the ICRC proposed to prohibit weapons whose harmful effects resulting in particular from the dissemination of incendiary, or other agents could spread to an unforeseen degree or escape, either in space or in time, from the control of those who employ them, thus endangering the civilian population.' Certain incendiary substances are toxic. A complete ban on incendiary weapons would have the greatest humanitarian benefits. 2) Toxic chemicals are chemical weapons prohibited by the Convention, except where intended for purposes not prohibited under the Convention, including if they are used for military purposes not connected with the use of chemical weapons and. Among them the RBK-250 ZAB-2.5 bomb containing 48 ZAB-2.5 submunitions, the ZAB-100-105 and the ZAB-500 unitary bomb. During the 1970s, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) convened a series of governmental expert meetings on the reaffirmation and development of international humanitarian law (IHL).Meetings were held at Geneva in 1971 and 1972, at Lucerne in 1974 and at Lugano in 1976. In the urban environment, the flamethrower can shoot fire around corners to enhance movement past dead or blind angles. N.T. In the determination of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) it follows from this rule, as a norm of customary international law applicable in both international and non-international armed conflicts, that. On 22 January 2021, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) has entered into force as the first instrument of international humanitarian law to mitigate the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of using and testing nuclear weapons. Incendiary cluster submunitions, for instance, the US M-69 or the Soviet ZAB-25 were developed early in the 193945 War and used in huge numbers by the USA in fire raids on Japanese cities.For more types of US incendiary submunitions, see A. Parsch, BAK to BSU/BSG - Equipment Listing;G. Goebel, Incendiary Bombs/ Runway Breakers / Electonic Attack Weapons. UN doc. Incendiary weapons: The big white lie US finally admits using white phosphorus in Fallujah - and beyond. Within the human body, it can burn for hours and tends to cause small, deep lesions. CCM, Arts. But the article two, protocol III of the 1980 UN Convention on Certain Weapons bans their use against . Phys., 7, 19732002, 2007, 1989-99. Incendiary weapons cause cruel, conscience-shocking injuries such as severe burns, asphyxiation, disfigurement, and psychological trauma, as well as death. at 271 (1997), 9, 10, 180, and 187 8. 1977 Additional Protocol I, Article 35(2). Tissue destruction may be increased by the reaction of the incendiary, e.g. Since then, incendiary weapons have allegedly been used, albeit on a smaller scale, by several states and non-state actors, including within concentrations of civilians, for instance: Incendiary weapons can be portable or mechanized, and they can be used with different weapon platforms. The grenade filler will burn from 30 to 45 seconds. Use of Incendiary Weapons (Protocol III) Protocol to the convention on prohibitions or restrictions on the use . 1977 Additional Protocol I, Article 35(2). Incendiary weapons are weapons or munitions designed to set fire to objects or cause burn or respiratory injury to people through the action of flame, heat, or combination thereof, resulting from . . (Art. Forest and other plants may not be a target unless they are used to conceal combatants or other military objectives. (a) Incendiary weapons can take the form of, for example, flame throwers, fougasses, shells, rockets, grenades, mines, bombs and other containers of incendiary substances. E. F. J. Yuzon, 'Deliberate Environmental Modification Through the Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons: "Greening" the International Laws of Armed Conflict to Establish an Environmentally Protective Regime', 11(5)(1996), Under the 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings it is an offence for any person to deliver or detonate an incendiary weapon or device into or against a place of public use, a State or government facility, a public transportation system or an infrastructure facility with intent to cause death, serious bodily injury, or extensive destruction. This narrow scope, however, is a legacy of the 1970s and is no longer appropriate today. by Syrian armed forces in Syria (2012/2013). The only US policy guidance is found in paragraph 36 of FM 27-10 which warns that they . In 1972, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution characterising incendiary weapons as a category of arms viewed with horror, and in 1973, the UN Secretary-General issued a detailed report on Napalm and other Incendiary Weapons and all Aspects of their Possible Use, which called for the prohibition of napalm and other incendiary weapons. The use against military targets outside civilian areas is not explicitly banned by any treaty. Incendiary weapons are governed by Protocol III to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3)nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-2875808. It works by being fired out of a weapon and causes damage to opponents. What are the human costs of incendiary weapons? 6 and 8. The combustion process rapidly retrieves the oxygen from the surrounding air and replaces it with carbon monoxide (CO). In the following discussion (which is still on) delegates express the urgency of putting the treaty into force and achieve nuclear weapons abolition. It is Protocol III to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. Excluded from the definition and, hence, from the scope of the Protocol are munitions which have incidental incendiary effects (such as illuminants, obscurants or tracers), and combined effects munitions in which the incendiary effect is not specifically designed to cause burn injury to persons. The area effect may be due to the dispersal of the incendiary substance over an area or the self-propagating character of secondary fires.ICRC, Weapons that may Cause Unnecessary Suffering or have Indiscriminate Effects, Report on the Work of Experts, 1972, 199 and 222; See also 56. For a more detailed overview of diplomatic initiatives dealing with napalm and other incendiary weapons in the early 1970s, see Department of Political and Security Council Affairs, The United Nations and Disarmament 1970-1975, United Nations, New York, 1976, Chapter X. Resolution XXIII,Human Rights in Armed Conflicts, adopted by the International Conference on Human Rights held in Teheran on 12 May 1968: the use of chemical and biological means of warfare, including napalm bombing, erode human rights and engender counter-brutality . It is prohibited to make forests or other kinds of plant cover the object of attack by incendiary weapons except when such natural elements are used to cover, conceal or camouflage combatants or other military objectives, or are themselves military objectives. In this regard, the Final Declaration adopted by the Fourth Review Conference of the CCW (2011) noted concerns raised by some High Contracting Parties about the offensive use of white phosphorous against civilians and further that there was no agreement on various aspects of this matter.CCW, Final Document of the Fourth Review Conference, Geneva, 1425 November 2011, UN doc. As a consequence, people in the vicinity may suffer respiratory injury from the inhalation of noxious gases. A more extensive report will follow. Article 2 comprehensively prohibits the use of air-dropped incendiary weapons in concentrations of civilians, but it allows the use of ground-launched incendiary weapons in concentrations of civilians when the military target is clearly separated from the concentration of civilians and all feasible precautions are taken to limit the incendiary effects and minimize injury or loss of life to civilians. Please try again. to incendiary projectiles designed specifically for defense against aircraft when used exclusively for that purpose; V. to appliances, such as flame-projectors, used to attack individual combatants by fire. A more recent US incendiary submunition is the M74A1. It is prohibited in all circumstances to make any military objective located within a concentration of civilians the object of attack by air-delivered incendiary weapons, where a concentration of civilians means 'any concentration of civilians, be it permanent or temporary, such as in inhabited parts of cities, or inhabited towns or villages, or as in camps or columns of refugees or evacuees, or groups of nomads'. (a) Incendiary weapons can take the form of, for example, flame throwers . The trauma of the attack, the painful treatment that follows, and appearance-changing scars lead to psychological harm and social exclusion. . Concern about napalm and other incendiary weapons was also raised in UN reports and UN General Assembly resolutions adopted in the 1970s.In 1972, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution characterising incendiary weapons as a category of arms viewed with horror, and in 1973, the UN Secretary-General issued a detailed report on Napalm and other Incendiary Weapons and all Aspects of their Possible Use, which called for the prohibition of napalm and other incendiary weapons. 11.137, Report No. The new paper calls on states parties to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) to close several loopholes in CCWs Protocol III. Incendiary weapons work through a powerful exothermic (heat-producing) reaction typically involving oxygen in the surrounding air (or an oxidizing agent) and some sort of incendiary substance such as magnesium, napalm, thermite, triethylaluminium or white phosphorous. US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland affirmed that the barrel bombs were incendiary bombs which contain flammable material that can be like napalm' or can be packed with nails and launched from the air or from a launcher. . Early Signs of War Crimes and Human Rights Abuses Committed by the Russian Military During the Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine: Russian Air-Dropped Bombs Hit Residential Area. It is Protocol III to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. (Article 2(3)) The first sentence echoes the prohibition under general IHL on area bombardment. 11.137, Report No. White phosphorus is highly soluble in fat and therefore deeply burns human flesh. Over 180 models of incendiary weapons currently exist.HRW, Memorandum to Convention on Conventional Weapons Delegates: The Human Suffering Caused by Incendiary Munitions, March 2011, citing Janes Ammunition Handbook 2007-2008. A number of states objected to this reservation, arguing that it was incompatible with the object and purpose of the Protocol.The US reservation reads: The United States of America, with reference to Article 2, paragraphs 2 and 3, reserves the right to use incendiary weapons against military objectives located in concentrations of civilians where it is judged that such use would cause fewer casualties and/or less collateral damage than alternative weapons, but in so doing will take all feasible precautions with a view to limiting the incendiary effects to the military objective and to avoiding, and in any event to minimizing, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects. France, for instance, considered the reservation to be contrary to the object and purpose of the Protocol since, despite the assurances given by the United States of America, it cannot guarantee the protection of civilians, which is the raison d'tre of the Protocol. Generally, on reservations, seeGuide to Practice on Reservations to Treaties, International Law Commission, 2011, and the detailed commentaries thereto.
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