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. S/2009/537, 489. Many countries have expressed outrage at the use of incendiary weapons over the past five years, including at meetings of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), the treaty that regulates the weapons. E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/27 of 24 June 1997. The ZAB-100-105 may be found with a solid incendiary filling material or can be filled with small Incendiary bomblets which are scattered by the high-explosive bursting charge. Perkkio. Use of air-dropped incendiary weapons, including so-called vacuum bombs or fuel-air explosives (FAEs), have also been recorded in Syria. If fragments of white phosphorus enter the bloodstream, they can lead to multiple organ failure. Under the CCM, submunitions that contain an incendiary substance, and which are dispersed or released by a cluster munition and are designed to function by detonating an explosive charge prior to, on or after impact, are prohibited. Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. 1(b)) For a discussion of the relationship between incendiary toxic chemicals, or munitions and devices containing toxic incendiary substances, and chemical weapons, see D. Fidler, 'The Use of White Phosphorus Munitions by U.S. Military Forces in Iraq', ASIL Insights, 2005; SIPRI, Incendiary Weapons, 1975, 187-226. 51(4)(b) and (c); 51(5); and 57(2)(a)(ii). The Encyclopedia is a project of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights launched on 2 December 2013. As a consequence, people in the vicinity may suffer respiratory injury from the inhalation of noxious gases. Concluded in 1981, it entered into force on 2 December 1983. Privacy Policy|Terms of Use|Disclaimer|Web design by Optima. Already-dressed wounds can reignite when dressings are removed, and they are re-exposed to oxygen. As of May 2021, it has been adopted by 125 state parties. A number of conventional weapons are regulated in the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. Large-scale fires are difficult to fight. Owing to the incendiary effects of WP, munitions containing WP can fall within the ambit of the 1980 Protocol on Incendiary . The use of fire as a weapon has a long history, and early incendiary weapons, like incendiary arrows, early firebombs and flamethrowers, dominated the battlefield for centuries until the introduction of gunpowder in the 15th century. 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. Under the Protocol, 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.' The use of incendiary weapons is controlled under international law by the Convention on Conventional Weapons, but the treaty only sets an outright ban in certain contexts. . 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. Severe burn injuries are extremely painful and require immediate, specialized and intensive medical care. FAEs are thermobaric weapons that disperse an aerosolized explosive cloud often toxic on its own ignited by a charge, producing an enormous shockwave. Like thermite, it has been used in artillery shells to create incendiary effects. Conf. 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. Victims and medical professionals who try to remove it may inadvertently spread the burning material to other areas of the body, in particular the hands. In many instances, it is unclear, however, whether these cases concern use of an incendiary weapon as defined under international law, of other weapons with incendiary effects, or more generally, of fire as a weapon (arson). 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. Source: 33rd Infantry Division Association. UN doc. These meetings were held against the background of widespread use of napalm and other incendiary weapons in Vietnam and elsewhere, and the humanitarian consequences of the use of incendiary weapons were one of the main subjects of discussion. [1] A/8803/Rev. We call on states parties to this treaty to recognize the unnecessary human cost of incendiary weapons and initiate a process to revisit and strengthen existing law. The bombing of Tokyo with incendiary weapons incinerated more people than the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. It has a big psychological effect.; N.T. Incendiary weapons are designed to damage materials by fire and heat, and to cause burn or respiratory injury to persons. November 7, 2022Rethinking Slavery and Freedom in Islamic Law. 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. UN doc. Incendiary weapons cause cruel, conscience-shocking injuries such as severe burns, asphyxiation, disfigurement, and psychological trauma, as well as death. (Art. In earlier papers, the Clinic and HRW outlined the shortcomings of Protocol III and described the humanitarian suffering produced by incendiary weapons. 'UN doc. See ICRC, Practice in relation to Rule 70. 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 . These weapons, which produce heat and fire through the chemical reaction of a flammable substance, cause immediate and lifelong human suffering in addition to destroying homes and other civilian structures. CCW/CONF.IV/4/Add.1. Incendiary weapons also start fires that can destroy homes, damage critical infrastructure and crops, and kill livestock. Protocol III prohibits the use of air-dropped incendiary weapons in populated areas but allows the use of ground-delivered models in certain circumstances. magnesium, with moisture in the body. 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. The intense heat can melt metal structures and degrade non-flammable materials. Incendiary weapons are governed by Protocol III to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). 2(2) and 2(3). In relation to the protection of civilians,the ICRC finds that state practice establishes, as a norm of customary international law applicable in both international and non-international armed conflicts, that. (Art. Iraq's acting Human Rights minister, Narmin Othman, said last night . Incendiary weapons. 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 has been noted that this provision is heavily compromised by an explicitly broad notion of military objectives, such that it would not find the use by the USA of incendiary weapons in Vietnam in breach. Chem. to encourage the Soviet Union to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. ICRC, Weapons that may Cause Unnecessary Suffering or have Indiscriminate Effects, Report on the Work of Experts, 1972, 206. These bombs are an evolution of the incendiary bombs M-47 and M-74, used during the Korea and Vietnam wars. The 1938 Amsterdam Draft Convention for the Protection of Civilian Populations Against New Engines of War (never adopted in legally binding form) prohibits the use of chemical, incendiary or bacterial weapons in times of war. Conf. Use of Incendiary Weapons (Protocol III) Protocol to the convention on prohibitions or restrictions on the use . The Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the use of Incendiary Weapons is a United Nations treaty that restricts the use of incendiary weapons. Victims may experience loss of motor function due to the damage to muscles and scarring. Joanne Box, LLM 11, Alan Cliff, JD 11, and Joe Phillips, JD 12, helped develop the teams recommendations and drafted the paper being distributed at a conference of CCW states parties in Geneva this week. 11.137, Report No. This can cause multiple small but deep burns. The convention covers land mines, booby traps, incendiary devices, blinding laser weapons and clearance of explosive remnants of war . 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. Since the letter opened for signature in November 2021, it has been signed by the following 54 individuals and 8 organizations across 11 countries: Rue de Lausanne 120B, Case Postale 1063, 1211 Genve 1 2022. The use against military targets outside civilian areas is not explicitly banned by any treaty. by Israel in Lebanon (2006) and in Gaza (2009). Flamethrowers, widely used in the first and second world war and in the Korea and Vietnam wars, have not been in the US arsenal since 1978. S/2009/537, 489. D. 157 (Corrigendum), Art. In the case of case of Ayubov v. Russia, the applicant complained about the destruction of his property, a house and two cars, by armed men in camouflage uniforms using a flame-thrower. Incendiary weapons, as the term is understood in international humanitarian law (IHL) describes weapons that act mainly through fire and heat. 30 seconds . For more detail on this case, see the separate entry on white phosphorus munitions. Any military advantages are outweighed by the extreme human suffering they cause. (Art. The term fougasse describes a variety of devices that are usually buried in the ground, are set off from a distance and project debris or flame in the direction of an enemy. Any use of incendiary weapons in the course of hostilities must, however, comply with the IHL prohibition on indiscriminate attacks, in particular the prohibition on attacks which employ a method or means of combat which cannot be directed at a specific military objective, or the effects of which cannot be limited as required under IHL, as well as the specific prohibition on area bombardment, the prohibition on disproportionate attacks, and the requirement to take all feasible precautions in the choice of means and methods of attack with a view to avoiding, and in any event to minimizing, incidental harm to civilians.Additional Protocol I, Arts. Rethinking Slavery and Freedom in Islamic Law. CCW/MSP/2012/9, 24. Under certain conditions large-scale fires can coalesce into a firestorm, associated with extremely high temperatures and hurricane strong winds, which is beyond the capacity of fire-fighters to control. A/8803/Rev. Flame fougasses can act like flame throwers or incendiary mines. The use of. HCJ 4146/11) concerning the use, by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), of white phosphorus in populated areas. Report of the UN Secretary-General, Napalm and other Incendiary Weapons and all Aspects of their Possible Use, 1973, 192. 1(3)). C.H.R., OEA/Ser.L/V/II.95 Doc. Article 2(1) applies the prohibition under general rules of IHL, of attacks on civilians, including by way of reprisals, to incendiary weapons: It is prohibited in all circumstances to make the civilian population as such, individual civilians or civilian objects the object of attack by incendiary weapons. [2][3] 51(5)(a) and 57(2)(a)(ii). The President transmits treaties to the Senate for its consideration and potential approval of a resolution of ratification. *IIRC, the USA refused to sign this treaty. 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) American University Law Review, 804. The CCW has five separate protocols that, in order, encompass weapons with fragments undetectable by x-rays; landmines and booby traps; incendiary weapons; blinding lasers; and explosive remnants of war. Used for similar purposes, the Russian Shmel is a single-shot, man-portable, shoulder-launched rocket weapon system intended for dismounted infantryman that can fire RPO-Z incendiary rounds, as well as a fuel-air explosive round (RPO-A) and a smoke round (RPO-D). In modern warfare, these weapons are often used to ignite fuel and ammunition supplies, destroy vehicles and other equipment, and attack personnel. Burns sustained in times of war are associated with high early mortality, but in many cases death may not ensue for days or even weeks of great suffering.SIPRI, Incendiary Weapons, 1975, 135-6. U.S. soldier of the 33rd Infantry Division using a flamethrower. are not illegal per se or illegal by treaty. Yeung Sik Yuen in accordance with Sub-Commission resolution 2001/36, UN doc. if incendiary weapons are used, particular care must be taken to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects. 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. In the urban environment, the flamethrower can shoot fire around corners to enhance movement past dead or blind angles. N.T. During the 1970s, there was growing interest in addressing harm from the use of certain conventional weapons, most notably napalm and other incendiary weapons. For an overview of incendiary weapons used in World War I and World War II, see SIPRI, Incendiary Weapons, 1975, pp. The President transmits treaties to the Senate for its consideration and potential approval of a resolution of ratification. Incendiary weapons produce heat and fire through the chemical reaction of a flammable substance. 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. 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 combination thereof, produced by a chemical reaction of a substance delivered on the target.Art. The paper recommends broadening the definition of incendiary weapon to cover all munitions with incendiary effects, including white phosphorus. 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. Incendiary weapons such as napalm or thermite bombs are not prohibited by international arms control instruments per se - as opposed to anti-personnel mines, biological and chemical weapons, and cluster munitions. There have been allegations that Syrian armed forces air-dropped incendiary weapons, including incendiary cluster munitions and improvised barrel bombs, into concentrations of civilians. Forest and other plants may not be a target unless they are used to conceal combatants or other military objectives. Jenzen-Jones, 'ZAB-100-105 Incendiary Bomby in Syria', The Rogue Adventurer, 24 December 2012. SIPRI, Incendiary Weapons, 1975, 40-69; Human Rights Watch, Memorandum to Convention on Conventional Weapons Delegates: The Human Suffering Caused by Incendiary Munitions, March 2011. Case No. Under the CCM, submunitions that contain an incendiary substance, and which are dispersed or released by a cluster munition and are designed to function by detonating an explosive charge prior to, on or after impact, are prohibited. Under the Protocol, 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.' Pursuant to the UN Secretary-General's Bulletin on the Observance by United Nations forces of international humanitarian law, the use of incendiary weapons is prohibited.UN doc. The Enyclopedia aims to provide accurate, up-to-date information on weapons, the effects of their use, and their regulation under public international law, in a format that is accessible to non-specialists. The treatment of burn victims is difficult, prolonged and intensely painful, at times involving multiple surgeries. Resolution 22 (IV), entitled 'Follow-up regarding prohibition or restriction of use of certain conventional weapons', adopted by the Conference on 9 June 1977 noted the efforts devoted to the further narrowing down of divergent views on the desirability of prohibiting or restricting the use of incendiary weapons, including napalm. A/8803/Rev. 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. The ban covers actual flame, heat or chemical reactions, so this limits the use of flamethrowers, napalm, and white phosphorus. to include napalm, flame-throwers, tracer rounds, and white phosphorous, are not illegal per se or illegal by treaty. It was signed in 1992 and came into force in 2002, allowing 35 countries including the United States and Russia to fly unarmed surveillance flights over each other's territory. 55/97, Inter-Am. A/8803/Rev. A more extensive report will follow. 1, 1973. 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'. 1(1). 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. Self-igniting in the air, burning intensely and producing large amounts of smoke, white phosphorus is an obvious weapon of war. Article 2 restrictions on use arbitrarily differentiate between incendiary weapons based on their delivery system. See also UN doc. CCW Protocol III, thus, does not outlaw incendiary weapons, but places constraints on their use for the conduct of hostilities, notably in populated areas. ), The Convention on Cluster Munitions A Commentary, OUP, 2010, 2.116. It is a four-barreled bazooka firing M74 rockets equipped with M235 warheads, containing approximately 1.34 pounds (0.61 kg) of thickened pyrophoric agent (TPA), a liquid which spontaneously combusts in air and burns at high temperature. Concluded in 1981, it entered into force on 2 December 1983. 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. See, 'Phosphorous weapons- the ICRC's view', Interview with P. Herby, 17 January 2009; ICRC, Customary IHL Study, 2005, Practice in relation to Rule 85. J. Wyatt, Law-making at the intersection of international environmental, humanitarian and criminal law: the issue of damage to the environment in international armed conflict, International Review of the Red Cross, vol. "Incendiary weapon" means 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 combination thereof, produced by a chemical reaction of a substance delivered on the target. An M35 cluster munition can disperse 57 such incendiary submunitions. The Geneva Disarmament Conference of 1932-1933 gave considerable attention to the question of incendiary weapons. 1980 Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons (Protocol III to the CCW) prohibits the aerial delivery, in relation to the conduct of hostilities during armed conflict, of incendiary weapons within a concentration of civilians. 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.' Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights White phosphorus munitions operate in the same way as incendiary weapons: by setting fires and causing burns through the action of flame, heat, or combination thereof, produced by a chemical reaction of a substance delivered on the target. As discussed below, they fall outside the current treaty definition of incendiary weapons because they are primarily designed to create a smokescreen to hide military operations. Phys., 7, 19732002, 2007, 1989-99. Notably, ground-launched incendiary weapons that are set to explode in the air above a target can have an area effect similar to that of air-launched incendiary weapons. It is Protocol III to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. What was one goal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the Yalta Conference in 1945? Even partial thickness (second degree) burns from napalm on a relatively small percentage of the skin can cause shock.Report of the Secretary-General, Napalm and Other Incendiary Weapons and all Aspects of Their Possible Use, UN doc.
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