Protocol on Incendiary Weapons

{{Short description|Sub-Section of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons}}

{{Infobox treaty

| name = Protocol on Incendiary Weapons

| long_name = Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the use of Incendiary Weapons

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| caption =

| type =

| context = Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons

| date_drafted =

| date_signed =

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| date_sealed =

| date_effective = {{start date|1983|12|2|df=y}}

| condition_effective = 20

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| parties = 126, {{as of|January 2023}}{{cite web|title=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)|publisher=United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 1342|page=137|url=https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/MTDSG/Volume%20II/Chapter%20XXVI/XXVI-2.en.pdf |accessdate=14 January 2023}}

| depositor = UN Secretary-General

| languages = Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish

| wikisource =

}}

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.{{cite news |title=Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons (Protocol III). Geneva, 10 October 1980. |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/ccw-protocol-iii-1980 |access-date=14 January 2023 |publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross}}D. Schindler and J. Toman, The Laws of Armed Conflicts, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1988, pp.190-191. {{As of|January 2023}}, it had been ratified by 126 state parties.

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.{{cite news |author= |date=1 March 2022 |title=Ukraine's ambassador to US says Russia used a vacuum bomb, international groups say banned cluster munitions used to strike shelter |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-01/ukraine-ambassador-us-russia-used-vacuum-bomb-cluster-munitions/100870638 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=4 March 2022}}{{cite news |last=Hanson |first=Marianne |date=2 March 2022 |title=What are thermobaric weapons? And why should they be banned? |url=https://theconversation.com/what-are-thermobaric-weapons-and-why-should-they-be-banned-178289 |website=The Conversation |access-date=2 November 2022}} Their use against civilian populations or infrastructure may be banned by this Protocol.{{cite journal |last=Dunlap |first=Charlie |date=27 February 2022 |title=The Ukraine crisis and the international law of armed conflict (LOAC): some Q & A |journal=Lawfire |url=https://sites.duke.edu/lawfire/2022/02/27/the-ukraine-crisis-and-the-international-law-of-armed-conflict-loac-some-q-a/ |access-date=4 March 2022}} {{As of|2022|11}}, all past attempts to regulate or restrict thermobaric weapons have failed.{{cite news |last=Seidel |first=Jamie |date=27 February 2022 |title=Father of all bombs': Russia's brutal weapon |url=https://www.news.com.au/world/europe/father-of-all-bombs-russias-brutal-weapon/news-story/45a3fda64cc7d32d389c06749809b4bc |access-date=11 March 2022 |publisher=news.com.au}}

Content

The protocol 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 flame, heat or a combination thereof, produced by a chemical reaction of a substance delivered on the target. 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. Forest and other plants may not be a target unless they are used to conceal combatants or other military objectives.{{cite web | url=https://www.icrc.org/en/document/1980-convention-certain-conventional-weapons#.VKkpP2SG-rY | title=1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons – Factsheet | publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross | date=March 2014 | accessdate=4 January 2015}}{{cite web | url=https://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule84 | title=Rule 84. The Protection of Civilians and Civilian Objects from the Effects of Incendiary Weapons | publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross | accessdate=11 January 2015}}

The protocol lists certain munition types like smoke shells which only have a secondary or additional incendiary effect; these munition types are not considered to be incendiary weapons.{{cite web |title=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: Text of the Protocol |publisher=UNODA |url=http://disarmament.un.org/treaties/t/ccwc_p3/text |accessdate=23 June 2016}}

Review of doctrine

An investigation into the doctrine taught by various militaries was conducted sometime after 2001 by the International Committee of the Red Cross as part of its database on Customary International Humanitarian Law.ICRC Database, Customary IHL , Practice, https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v2 Rule 84 deals with this Protocol.{{cite news |title=Practice relating to Rule 84. The Protection of Civilians and Civilian Objects from the Effects of Incendiary Weapons |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/zh/customary-ihl/v2/rule84 |publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross |access-date=14 January 2023}}