I. The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons

Chapter:

9. Conventional arms control

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2018

Author(s):

Dan Smith

Many arms control and disarmament regimes are underpinned by humanitarian norms and principles.¹ Much of the focus on conventional technologies in the recent past (1990–2010) was on cluster munitions and landmines, as well as efforts to restrict the proliferation of small arms. These efforts included steps to improve standards in the production, trade and use of weaponry as well as bans on an entire class of weaponry. The 1981 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 (CCW Convention) takes both approaches. The 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti‑Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (APM Convention) and the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM)—which are discussed in sections II and III, respectively—both ban an entire class of weapon, albeit relatively narrow ones. This section reviews the negotiations that took place within the CCW Convention. It also examines ongoing efforts to expand the scope of the CCW Convention, especially the discussions on lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) and incendiary weapons, which have been the main focus of negotiations on conventional technologies in recent years.