The ban on chemical weapons and biological weapons which are meant to affect humans is absolute: it does not matter whether they are lethal or not. Nuclear weapons: Nuclear weapons are munitions that use nuclear fission, fusion, or both, to kill, injure, and destroy.
The catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons could include mass civilian casualties, long-term threats to future generations as has been found in Japan, and continued risks to the health of affected populations and the environment even years after detonation.
Today, nuclear weapons are prohibited for signatories to the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty However, many states are not party to this treaty, including, among others, all states possessing nuclear weapons and Canada.
Nuclear weapons are not prohibited as such under customary law. However, the use of nuclear weapons is regulated and must comply with international humanitarian law. In , the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial arm of the United Nations, gave an Advisory Opinion about the Legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons.
The Court examined treaty law, customary rules, and State practice with regard to nuclear weapons at that time and, based on their analysis, concluded unanimously that the principles and rules of international humanitarian law apply to the use of nuclear weapons.
Various legal instruments have been put in place to prevent and regulate the proliferation, testing, use, and disarmament of nuclear weapons. Canada is a State Party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty NPT , which aims to restrict the production of nuclear warheads by promoting nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. In , the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement expressed its deep concern about nuclear weapons, in particular, due to:.
Anti-personnel landmines: Anti-personnel mines are munitions that are designed to incapacitate, injure or kill people. Anti-personnel mines are also dangerous because they can lay dormant for a long time—even decades after an armed conflict has ended.
During the s, the International Committee of the Red Cross and National Societies, including the Canadian Red Cross, joined the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in encouraging states to prohibit the use of anti-personnel landmines. The Canadian government backed the campaign and galvanized support for the signing of the Ottawa Treaty.
The terms of the treaty establish a comprehensive ban on anti-personnel mines and prohibit the development, production, stockpiling and transfer, as well as the destruction and clearance of existing stockpiles and mined areas. Cluster munitions: Cluster munitions are explosive weapons which consist of a shell containing submunitions, or small explosives.
Cluster munitions are either air-dropped or launched from the ground, opening mid-air and discharging the small explosives. Cluster munitions then scatter throughout large areas, and evidence has shown that they often end up outside of the original military target which putts civilians at risk. Some submunitions do not explode immediately after discharge or upon hitting the ground. They can lay dormant and continue to pose a risk of detonation which can kill and injure civilians.
Due to their long-lasting and indiscriminate effects, cluster munitions are banned for signatories to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The Convention on Cluster Munitions, prohibiting the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions, was adopted in Canada ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions in and introduced domestic legislation in order to implement the Convention into Canadian law. Conventional Weapons: The term conventional weapons refers to weapons that use kinetic, incendiary, or explosive energy to kill, injure, or destroy, and excludes weapons of mass destruction.
Conventional weapons include tanks, combat helicopters, artillery, small arms, ammunition, mines, and cluster munitions. Certain conventional weapons are banned under IHL due to their indiscriminate effects on civilians or their causing unnecessary suffering or superfluous injury to combatants.
The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons is one of the main international legal instruments regulating conventional weapons. The Convention prohibits or restricts certain types of conventional weapons.
The Convention provides general terms while restrictions on specific weapons are detailed in the annexed Protocols. The Protocols are as follows:. You can help when help is most needed. Give to the Red Cross. What is International Humanitarian Law? International Humanitarian Law is a set of rules that seek to limit the effects of armed conflict. International Humanitarian Law prohibits and regulates the use of certain weapons and methods of warfare.
When does it apply? International humanitarian law distinguishes between international and non-international armed conflicts: International armed conflict: International armed conflicts usually involve at least two countries. They are subject to a wide range of rules, including those set out in the four Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I.
Non-international armed conflict: Non-international armed conflicts usually take place within the territory of a single country, between either state armed forces and organized armed groups, or between organized armed groups fighting each other. A more limited range of rules applies to these non-international armed conflicts, set out in Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions, as well as in Additional Protocol II when applicable. What are the sources of IHL?
The First Geneva Convention protects wounded and sick soldiers on land. The main purpose of international humanitarian law IHL is to maintain some humanity in armed conflicts, saving lives and reducing suffering.
To do that, IHL regulates how wars are fought, balancing two aspects: weakening the enemy and limiting suffering. The rules of war are universal. Very few international treaties have this level of support. Everyone fighting a war needs to respect IHL, both governmental forces and non-State armed groups.
If the rules of war are broken, there are consequences. But in recent years, the revisionist school of just war theory, led by Jeff McMahan, among others, has radically undermined the defense of these principles. Seth Lazar illustrates the disturbing vision of the morality of war that results from revisionist premises, showing how broadly Walzerian conclusions can be defended using more reliable foundations.
Victory in war goes beyond the last shot fired; a more healthy society must emerge. Antonia Chayes and Janne E. Nolan argue for the practical necessity of reconstruction after war. But in order to learn how to achieve such a consolidation of military victory, a shift in mindset is required from both civil and military policy-makers and planners. And a change in practice is needed at the very beginning of planning for war, requiring an unprecedented degree of domestic and international cooperation.
Most civilian casualties in war are not the result of bombs and bullets; they are due to the destruction of the essentials of daily living, including food, water, shelter, and health care. Paul H.
Wise suggests that recent technical advances make such neglect increasingly unacceptable: our improved ability to measure indirect effects and the unprecedented progress of our ability to prevent or mitigate the indirect casualties of war. Winter The Changing Rules of War Project.
New Dilemmas in Ethics, Technology, and War. Scott D. Back to browse all issues. A bulletin board with a posting of the Geneva Convention rights for detainees hangs in an exercise yard at the Camp 5 high-security detention center at the Guantanamo Bay U. Naval Base in Cuba. Author Scott D. Armed Forces Law has played a persistent role in the history of U. Limiting Civilian Casualties as Part of a Winning Strategy: The Case for Courageous Restraint Military commanders have a moral obligation to abide by international norms and humanitarian laws governing the treatment of noncombatants.
Authors Joseph H. Author Allen S.
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