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Geneva Protocol
Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare
Drafted 17 June 1925[1]
Signed 17 June 1925[1]
Location Geneva[1]
Effective 8 February 1928[1]
Condition Ratification by 65 states[2]
Signatories 38[1]
Parties 138[3]
Depositary Government of France[1]
Wikisource-logo Geneva Protocol to Hague Convention at Wikisource

The Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, usually called the Geneva Protocol, is a treaty prohibiting the use of chemical and biological weapons in international armed conflicts. It was signed at Geneva on 17 June 1925 and entered into force on 8 February 1928. It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on 7 September 1929.[4] The Geneva Protocol is a protocol to the Convention for the Supervision of the International Trade in Arms and Ammunition and in Implements of War signed on the same date, and followed the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907.

It prohibits the use of "asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and of all analogous liquids, materials or devices" and "bacteriological methods of warfare". This is now understood to be a general prohibition on chemical weapons and biological weapons, but has nothing to say about production, storage or transfer. Later treaties did cover these aspects — the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

A number of countries submitted reservations when becoming parties to the Geneva Protocol, declaring that they only regarded the non-use obligations as applying to other parties and that these obligations would cease to apply if the prohibited weapons were used against them.

The main elements of the protocol are now considered by many to be part of customary international law.

Negotiation history[]

British 55th Division gas casualties 10 April 1918

British troops blinded by tear gas during the Battle of Estaires, 1918

In the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, the use of dangerous chemical agents were outlawed. In spite of this, the First World War saw large-scale chemical warfare. France used teargas in 1914, but the first large-scale successful deployment of chemical weapons was by the German Empire in Ypres, Belgium in 1915, when chlorine gas was released as part of a German attack at the Battle of Gravenstafel. Following this, a chemical arms race began, with the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria-Hungary, the United States, and Italy joining France and Germany in the use of chemical weapons. This resulted in the development of a range of horrific chemicals affecting lungs, skin, or eyes. Some were intended to be lethal on the battle field, like hydrogen cyanide, and efficient methods of deploying agents were invented. At least 124,000 tons was produced during the war. In 1918, about one grenade out of three was filled with dangerous chemical agents. Around 1.3 million casualties of the conflict were attributed to the use of gas and the psychological affect on troops may have had a much greater effect.[5] As protective equipment developed, the technology to destroy such equipment also became a part of the arms race. The use of deadly poison gas was not only limited to combatants in the front but also civilians as nearby civilian towns were at risk from winds blowing the poison gases through. Civilians living in towns rarely had any warning systems about the dangers of poison gas as well as not having access to effective gas masks. The use of chemical weapons employed by both sides had inflicted an estimated 100,000-260,000 civilian casualties during the conflict. Tens of thousands of more (along with military personnel) died from scarring of the lungs, skin damage, and cerebral damage in the years after the conflict ended. In the year 1920 alone, over 40,000 civilians and 20,000 military personnel died from the chemical weapons effects.[5][6]

The Treaty of Versailles included some provisions that banned Germany from either manufacturing or importing chemical weapons. Similar treaties banned the First Austrian Republic, the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and the Kingdom of Hungary from chemical weapons, all belonging to the losing side, the Central powers. Russian bolsheviks and Britain continued the use of chemical weapons in the Russian Civil War and possibly in the Middle East in 1920.

Three years after World War I, the Allies wanted to reaffirm the Treaty of Versailles, and in 1922 the United States introduced the Treaty relating to the Use of Submarines and Noxious Gases in Warfare at the Washington Naval Conference.[7] Four of the war victors, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Japan, gave consent for ratification, but it failed to enter into force as the French Third Republic objected to the submarine provisions of the treaty.[7]

At the 1925 Geneva Conference for the Supervision of the International Traffic in Arms the French suggested a protocol for non-use of poisonous gases. The Second Polish Republic suggested the addition of bacteriological weapons. It was signed on 17 June.[8]

Historical assessment[]

Eric Croddy, assessing the Protocol in 2005, took the view that the historic record showed it had been largely ineffectual. Specifically it did not prohibit:[8]

  • use against not-ratifying parties
  • retaliation using such weapons, so effectively making it a no-first-use agreement
  • use within a state’s own borders in a civil conflict
  • research and development of such weapons, or stockpiling them

Becaus of that, several nations were able to employ chemical weapons inside their own territories against their citizens and/or subjects. Spain did so in the Rif War while Iraq employed them against Kurdish civiians in the Halabja chemical attack during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War. Syrian government and opposition forces accused each other of using chemical weapons in 2013 in Ghoula and Khan al-Assal during the Syrian civil war. [9] A 2013 United Nations report confirmed the use of sarin, but did not investigate which side used chemical weapons.[10] In 2014, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed the use of chlorine gas in the Syrian villages of Talmanes, Al Tamanah and Kafr Zeta, but did not say which side used the gas.[11]

Despite the U.S. having been a proponent of the protocol, the U.S. military and American Chemical Society lobbied against it, causing the U.S. Senate not to ratify the protocol for 50 years.[8][12]

Violations[]

Sarin test rabbit

Rabbit used to check for leaks at a sarin production plant in 1970

Several countries have deployed or prepared chemical weapons in spite of the treaty. Italy used mustard gas against Abyssinia in 1935 and Japan used chemical weapons against China from 1938 to 1941.

In the Second World War, the U.S., Great Britain, and Germany prepared the resources to deploy chemical weapons, stockpiling tons of them, but refrained from their use due to the balance of terror: the probability of horrific retaliation. There was an accidental release of mustard gas in Bari, Italy causing many deaths when a U.S. ship carrying CW ammunition was sunk in the harbor during an air raid. After the war, thousands of tons of shells and containers with tabun, sarin and other chemical weapons were disposed of at sea by the Allies.

During the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, the government of Saddam Hussein used several different chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin, and VX against Iran.

Subsequent interpretation of the protocol[]

In 1966, United Nations General Assembly resolution 2162B called for, without any dissent, all states to strictly observe the protocol. In 1969, United Nations General Assembly resolution 2603 (XXIV) declared that the prohibition on use of chemical and biological weapons in international armed conflicts, as embodied in the protocol - though restated in a more general form, were generally recognized rules of international law.[13] Following this, there was discussion of whether the main elements of the protocol now form part of customary international law, and now this is widely accepted to be the case.[12][14]

There have been differing interpretations over whether the protocol covers the use of harassing agents, such as adamsite and tear gas, and defoliants and herbicides, such as Agent Orange, in warfare.[12][15] The 1977 Environmental Modification Convention prohibits the military use of environmental modification techniques having widespread, long-lasting or severe effects. Many states do not regard this as a complete ban on the use of herbicides in warfare, but it does require case-by-case consideration.[16] The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention effectively banned riot control agents from being used as a method of warfare, though still permitting it for riot control.[17]

In recent times, the protocol has been interpreted to cover internal conflicts as well international ones. In 1995, an appellate chamber in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia stated that "there had undisputedly emerged a general consensus in the international community on the principle that the use of chemical weapons is also prohibited in internal armed conflicts." In 2005, the International Committee of the Red Cross concluded that customary international law includes a ban on the use of chemical weapons in internal as well as international conflicts.[9]

State parties[]

Geneva Protocol parties

Parties to the Geneva Protocol

  Parties with no reservations
  Parties with withdrawn reservations
  Parties with implicit reservations
  Parties with unwithdrawn reservations limiting the applicability of provisions of the Protocol
  Non-parties

To become party to the Protocol, states must deposit an instrument with the government of France (the depositary power). Thirty-eight states originally signed the Protocol. France was the first signatory to ratify the Protocol on 10 May 1926. El Salvador, the final signatory to ratify the Protocol, did so on 26 February 2008. As of May 2013, 138 states have ratified, acceded to, or succeeded to the Protocol,[3] most recently Moldova on 4 November 2010.

Reservations[]

A number of countries submitted reservations when becoming parties to the Geneva Protocol, declaring that they only regarded the non-use obligations as applying with respect to other parties to the Protocol and that these obligations would cease to apply with respect to any state, or its allies, which used the prohibited weapons. Several Arab states also declared that their ratification did not constitute recognition of, or diplomatic relations with, Israel, or that the provision of the Protocol were not binding with respect to Israel. Generally, reservations not only modify treaty provisions for the reserving party, but also symmetrically modify the provisions for previously ratifying parties in dealing with the reserving party.[12]:394 Subsequently, numerous states have withdrawn their reservations, including the former Czechoslovakia in 1990 prior to its dissolution.[18]

According to the Vienna Convention on Succession of States in respect of Treaties, states which succeed to a treaty after gaining independence from a state party "shall be considered as maintaining any reservation to that treaty which was applicable at the date of the succession of States in respect of the territory to which the succession of States relates unless, when making the notification of succession, it expresses a contrary intention or formulates a reservation which relates to the same subject matter as that reservation." While some states have explicitly either retained or renounced their reservations inherited on succession, states which have not clarified their position on their inherited reservations are listed as "implicit" reservations.

Party[1][3][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] Signed[27] Deposited Reservations[1][12][19][20][28][29][30][31][32] Notes
Flag of Afghanistan Afghanistan December 9, 1986
Flag of Albania Albania December 20, 1989
Flag of Algeria Algeria January 27, 1992
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
[33]
Flag of Angola Angola November 8, 1990
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
[34]
Flag of Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda January 1, 1989
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Argentina Argentina May 12, 1969
Flag of Australia Australia May 24, 1930
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrawn in 1986.[35]
Flag of Austria Austria June 17, 1925 May 9, 1928
Flag of Bahrain Bahrain December 9, 1988
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
[Reservation 3]
[36]
Flag of Bangladesh Bangladesh May 20, 1989
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
[37]
Flag of Barbados Barbados July 16, 1976
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrew the reservations made by the United Kingdom on succession.[38]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Belgium (civil) Belgium June 17, 1925 December 4, 1928
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrawn in 1997.[39]
Flag of Benin Benin December 9, 1986
Flag of Bhutan Bhutan February 19, 1979
Flag of Bolivia Bolivia January 14, 1985
Flag of Brazil Brazil June 17, 1925 August 28, 1970
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria June 17, 1925 March 7, 1934
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrawn in 1991.[40]
Flag of Burkina Faso Burkina Faso March 3, 1971 Ratified as the Republic of Upper Volta.
Flag of Cambodia Cambodia March 15, 1983 [Reservation 2] The Protocol was ratified by the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea in exile in 1983. 13 states (including the depositary France) objected to their ratification, and considered it legally invalid. In 1993, the Kingdom of Cambodia stated in a note verbale that it considered itself bound by the provisions of the Protocol.[41]
Flag of Cameroon Cameroon July 20, 1989
Flag of Canada Canada June 17, 1925 May 6, 1930
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrawn in 1991 as regards bacteriological agents, and completely withdrawn in 1999.[42]
Flag of Cape Verde Cape Verde October 15, 1991
Flag of the Central African Republic Central African Republic July 31, 1970
Flag of Chile Chile June 17, 1925 July 2, 1935
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrawn in 1991.[43]
Flag of the People's Republic of China China July 13, 1952
[Reservation 2] Made on succession.[44]
The People's Republic of China succeeded from the Republic of China, which had acceded on 24 August 1929.[44]
Flag of Costa Rica Costa Rica February 13, 2009
Flag of Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire July 27, 1970
Flag of Croatia Croatia December 18, 2006
Flag of Cuba Cuba June 24, 1966
Flag of Cyprus Cyprus December 12, 1966
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic September 17, 1993 Succeeded from Czechoslovakia.
Flag of Denmark Denmark June 17, 1925 May 5, 1930
Flag of the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic December 8, 1970
Flag of Ecuador Ecuador September 16, 1970
Flag of Egypt Egypt June 17, 1925 December 6, 1928
Flag of El Salvador El Salvador June 17, 1925 February 26, 2008
Flag of Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea May 20, 1989
Flag of Estonia Estonia June 17, 1925 August 28, 1931
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrawn in 1999.[45]
Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia June 17, 1925 October 7, 1935
Flag of Fiji Fiji March 21, 1973
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Retained the United Kingdom's reservations on succession.[46]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Finland Finland June 17, 1925 June 26, 1929
Flag of France France June 17, 1925 May 10, 1926
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrawn in 1996.[47]
Flag of The Gambia Gambia November 5, 1966
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Germany Germany June 17, 1925 April 25, 1929
Flag of Ghana Ghana May 3, 1967
Flag of Greece Greece June 17, 1925 May 30, 1931
Flag of Grenada Grenada May 20, 1989
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Guatemala Guatemala May 3, 1983
Flag of Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau May 20, 1989
Flag of the Vatican City Holy See October 18, 1966
Flag of Hungary Hungary October 11, 1952
Flag of Iceland Iceland November 2, 1967
Flag of India India June 17, 1925 April 9, 1930
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
[48]
Flag of Indonesia Indonesia January 21, 1971
[Reservation 4] Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the Netherlands.
Flag of Iran Iran November 5, 1929
Flag of Iraq Iraq September 8, 1931
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
[49]
Flag of Ireland Ireland August 29, 1930
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrawn in 1972.[50]
Flag of Israel Israel February 20, 1969
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
[51]
Flag of Italy Italy June 17, 1925 April 3, 1928
Flag of Jamaica Jamaica July 28, 1970
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Japan Japan June 17, 1925 May 21, 1970
Flag of Jordan Jordan January 20, 1977
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
[Reservation 3]
[52]
Flag of Kenya Kenya July 6, 1970
Flag of North Korea Korea, Democratic People's Republic of January 4, 1989
[Reservation 2] [53]
Flag of South Korea Korea, Republic of January 4, 1989
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Reservation 2 withdrawn in 2002 as regards biological agents covered by the BWC.
Flag of Kuwait Kuwait December 15, 1971
[Reservation 3]
[Reservation 5]
[54]
Flag of Laos Laos May 20, 1989
Flag of Latvia Latvia June 17, 1925 June 3, 1931
Flag of Lebanon Lebanon April 17, 1969
Flag of Lesotho Lesotho March 10, 1972
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Liberia Liberia June 17, 1927
Flag of Libya Libya December 29, 1971
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
[Reservation 3]
[55]
Flag of Liechtenstein Liechtenstein September 6, 1991
Flag of Lithuania Lithuania June 17, 1925 June 15, 1933
Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg June 17, 1925 September 1, 1936
Flag of Madagascar Madagascar August 2, 1967
Flag of Malawi Malawi September 14, 1970
Flag of Malaysia Malaysia December 10, 1970
Flag of Maldives Maldives December 27, 1966
Flag of Malta Malta October 15, 1970
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Mauritius Mauritius January 8, 1971
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Mexico Mexico May 28, 1932
Flag of Moldova Moldova November 4, 2010
Flag of Monaco Monaco January 6, 1967
Flag of Mongolia Mongolia December 6, 1968
[Reservation 2] Withdrawn in 1990.[56]
Flag of Morocco Morocco October 13, 1970
Flag of Nepal   Nepal May 9, 1969
Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands June 17, 1925 October 31, 1930
[Reservation 4] Withdrawn in 1995.[57]
Flag of New Zealand New Zealand May 24, 1930
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrawn in 1989.[58]
Flag of Nicaragua Nicaragua June 17, 1925 October 5, 1990
Flag of Niger Niger April 5, 1967
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from France.
Flag of Nigeria Nigeria October 15, 1968
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
[59]
Flag of Norway Norway June 17, 1925 July 27, 1932
Flag of Pakistan Pakistan April 15, 1960
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from India.
Flag of Panama Panama December 4, 1970
Flag of Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea September 2, 1980
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Retained Australia's reservations on succession.[60]
Succeeded from Australia.
Flag of Paraguay Paraguay October 22, 1933
Flag of Peru Peru August 13, 1985
Flag of the Philippines Philippines June 8, 1973
Flag of Poland Poland June 17, 1925 February 4, 1929
Flag of Portugal Portugal June 17, 1925 July 1, 1930
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Reservation 2 withdrawn in 2003, and reservation 1 withdrawn in 2014.
Flag of Qatar Qatar October 18, 1976
Flag of Romania Romania June 17, 1925 August 23, 1929
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrawn in 1991.[61]
Flag of Russia Russia April 5, 1928
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrawn in 2001.[62]
Ratified as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Flag of Rwanda Rwanda May 11, 1964
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from Belgium.
Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis November 15, 1989
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Saint Lucia Saint Lucia December 21, 1988
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines March 24, 1999
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia January 27, 1971
Flag of Senegal Senegal June 15, 1977
Flag of Serbia Serbia June 3, 2006
[Reservation 2] Implicit on succession.[Note 1] Serbia's Parliament voted to withdraw their reservation in May 2009[63] and the withdrawal was announced in 2010, but the depositary has not been notified.[64]
Succeeded as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,[Note 2] which had ratified the treaty as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
Flag of Sierra Leone Sierra Leone March 20, 1967
Flag of Slovakia Slovakia September 22, 1993[Note 3] Succeeded from Czechoslovakia.
Flag of Slovenia Slovenia April 8, 2008
Flag of the Solomon Islands Solomon Islands June 1, 1981
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Retained the United Kingdom's reservations on succession.[66]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of South Africa South Africa May 24, 1930
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrawn in 1996.[67]
Flag of Spain Spain June 17, 1925 August 22, 1929
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Withdrawn in 1992.[68]
Flag of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka January 20, 1954 Ratified as the Dominion of Ceylon.
Flag of Sudan Sudan December 17, 1980
Flag of Swaziland Swaziland July 23, 1991
Flag of Sweden Sweden June 17, 1925 April 25, 1930
Flag of Switzerland  Switzerland June 17, 1925 July 12, 1932
Flag of Syria Syria December 17, 1968
[Reservation 3] [69]
Flag of Tanzania Tanzania April 22, 1963 Ratified as he Republic of Tanganyika.
Flag of Thailand Thailand June 17, 1925 June 6, 1931 [Note 4] Ratified as Siam.
Flag of Togo Togo April 5, 1971
Flag of Tonga Tonga July 19, 1971
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago November 30, 1970
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the United Kingdom.
Flag of Tunisia Tunisia July 12, 1967
Flag of Turkey Turkey June 17, 1925 October 5, 1929
Flag of Uganda Uganda May 24, 1965
Flag of Ukraine Ukraine August 7, 2003
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Implicit on succession.[Note 1]
Succeeded from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom June 17, 1925 April 9, 1930
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
Reservation 2 withdrawn in 1991 as regards biological agents covered by the BWC, and reservations completely withdrawn in 2002.[71]
United States June 17, 1925 April 10, 1975
[Reservation 4] [72]
Flag of Uruguay Uruguay June 17, 1925 April 12, 1977
Flag of Venezuela Venezuela June 17, 1925 February 8, 1928
Flag of Vietnam Viet Nam December 15, 1980
[Reservation 1]
[Reservation 2]
[73]
Flag of Yemen Yemen March 17, 1971
[Reservation 3] Made in a second instrument of accession submitted on 16 September 1973.[Note 5]
Ratified as the Yemen Arab Republic. Also ratified by the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen on 20 October 1986, prior to Yemeni unification in 1990.[74]
  Parties with withdrawn reservations
  Parties with implicit reservations
  Parties with unwithdrawn reservations limiting the applicability of provisions of the Protocol
Reservations
  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.47 Binding only with regards to states which have ratified or acceded to the protocol.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 2.37 2.38 2.39 2.40 2.41 2.42 2.43 2.44 2.45 2.46 2.47 2.48 2.49 2.50 2.51 2.52 Ceases to be binding in regards to any state, and its allies, which does not observe the prohibitions of the protocol.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Does not constitute recognition of, or establishing any relations with, Israel.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ceases to be binding as to the use of chemical weapons in regards to any enemy state which does not observe the prohibitions of the protocol.
  5. Ceases to be binding in the case of a violation.
Notes
  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 According to the Vienna Convention on Succession of States in respect of Treaties, states which succeed to a treaty after gaining independence from a state party "shall be considered as maintaining any reservation to that treaty which was applicable at the date of the succession of States in respect of the territory to which the succession of States relates unless, when making the notification of succession, it expresses a contrary intention or formulates a reservation which relates to the same subject matter as that reservation." Any state which has not clarified their position on reservations inherited on succession are listed as "implicit" reservations.
  2. Although the FR Yugoslavia claimed to be the continuator state of the SFR of Yugoslavia, the United Nations General Assembly did not accept this and forced them to reapply for membership.
  3. Listed as 28 October 1997 by the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs.[65]
  4. Some sources list two reservations by Thailand, but neither the instrument of accession,[1] nor the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs list,[70] makes any mention of a reservation.
  5. According to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, states may make a reservation when "signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to a treaty".

Non-signatory states[]

The remaining UN member states, which have not acceded or succeeded to the Protocol, are:

  • Flag of Andorra Andorra
  • Flag of Armenia Armenia
  • Flag of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan
  • Flag of the Bahamas Bahamas
  • Flag of Belarus Belarus
  • Flag of Belize Belize
  • Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia
  • Flag of Botswana Botswana
  • Flag of Brunei Brunei
  • Flag of Burundi Burundi
  • Flag of Chad Chad
  • Flag of Colombia Colombia
  • Flag of the Comoros Comoros
  • Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Flag of the Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo
  • Flag of Djibouti Djibouti
  • Flag of Dominica Dominica
  • Flag of Eritrea Eritrea
  • Flag of Gabon Gabon
  • Flag of Georgia Georgia
  • Flag of Guinea Guinea
  • Flag of Guyana Guyana
  • Flag of Haiti Haiti
  • Flag of Honduras Honduras
  • Flag of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan
  • Flag of Kiribati Kiribati
  • Flag of Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan
  • Flag of Macedonia Macedonia

  • Flag of Mali Mali
  • Flag of the Marshall Islands Marshall Islands
  • Flag of Mauritania Mauritania
  • Flag of Federated States of Micronesia Federated States of Micronesia
  • Flag of Montenegro Montenegro
  • Flag of Mozambique Mozambique
  • Flag of Myanmar Myanmar
  • Flag of Namibia Namibia
  • Flag of Nauru Nauru
  • Flag of Oman Oman
  • Flag of Palau Palau
  • Flag of Samoa Samoa
  • Flag of San Marino San Marino
  • Flag of Sao Tome and Principe São Tomé and Príncipe

  • Flag of the Seychelles Seychelles
  • Flag of Singapore Singapore
  • Flag of Somalia Somalia
  • Flag of South Sudan South Sudan
  • Flag of Suriname Suriname
  • Flag of Tajikistan Tajikistan
  • Flag of East Timor Timor-Leste
  • Flag of Turkmenistan Turkmenistan
  • Flag of Tuvalu Tuvalu
  • Flag of the United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
  • Flag of Uzbekistan Uzbekistan
  • Flag of Vanuatu Vanuatu
  • Flag of Zambia Zambia
  • Flag of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe

Chemical weapons prohibitions[]

Year Name Effect
1675 Strasbourg Agreement The first international agreement limiting the use of chemical weapons, in this case, poison bullets.
1874 Brussels Convention on the Law and Customs of War Prohibited the employment of poison or poisoned weapons (Never entered into force.)
1899 1st Peace Conference at the Hague European Nations agreed to abstain from "the use of projectiles the object of which is the diffusion of asphyxiating or deleterious gases."
1907 2nd Peace Conference at the Hague The Conference added the use of poison or poisoned weapons.
1919 Treaty of Versailles Prohibited poison gas in Germany.
1922 Treaty relating to the Use of Submarines and Noxious Gases in Warfare Failed because France objected to clauses relating to submarine warfare.
1925 Geneva Protocol Prohibited the "use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and of all analogous liquids, materials or devices" and "bacteriological methods".
1972 Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention No verification mechanism, negotiations for a protocol to make up this lack halted by USA in 2001.
1993 Chemical Weapons Convention Comprehensive bans on development, production, stockpiling and use of Chemical Weapons, with destruction timelines.
1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Makes it a war crime to employ chemical weapons in international conflicts. (2010 amendment extends prohibition to internal conflicts.)

References[]

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External links[]

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