I. Multilateral regulation of inhumane weapons and other conventional weapons of humanitarian concern

Chapter:

13. Conventional arms control and regulation of new weapon technologies

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2022

Author(s):

Ian Davis

Many of the contemporary debates on conventional arms control are shaped by the concept of ‘humanitarian disarmament’, which prioritizes the protection, security and well-being of people as opposed to states. This approach strives to increase the protection of civilians by reducing the human and environmental impacts of arms.¹ One of the main multilateral treaties designed for regulating weapons that are considered to cause unnecessary or unjustifiable suffering to combatants or to affect civilians indiscriminately is the 1981 Certain Conventional Weapons Convention (CCW Convention) and its five protocols. Their scope extends to landmines, incendiary weapons and explosive remnants of war (ERW), among other weapon types.² Since the CCW Convention is an umbrella treaty, agreements on additional weapon types can be regulated through the adoption of new protocols. In recent decades, however, there have been increasing tensions between the prioritization of humanitarian demands and the perceived military needs of certain states. Because the CCW regime operates by consensus, a small number of states that have chosen to retain or develop weapons seen as inhumane by others have simply vetoed or stalled progress on strengthening the treaty.³