Full text in PDF format - International Committee of the Red Cross

the use of laser weapons specifically
designed to cause permanent blindness,
as well as their transfer to any
State or any other entity. The treaty
further provides that, in the employment
of laser systems, the Contracting
Parties shall take all feasible precautions
to avoid the risk of causing
permanent blindness.
This Protocol has been ratified by
3 States, 1 of which are American
States.
Explosive Remnants of War
The Protocol on Explosive Remnants
of War (Protocol V), annexed
to the Convention on Conventional
Weapons in 2003, seeks to minimise
the perils arising from explosive ordnance
that has failed to explode or
that has been abandoned, including
cluster munitions. Under this Protocol,
each party to an armed conflict
shall remove explosive remnants
of war and facilitate the removal by
third parties of the munition used.
This Protocol also provides for a series
of actions to protect the population
from the perils to which they are
exposed and to arrange cooperation
efforts among States in this field.
Protocol V came into force on November
12th, 200 , and it has been
ratified by 2 States worldwide and
2 in the Americas. It is worth mentioning
that El Salvador deposited
the instrument of ratification on
March 23rd, 200 .
The 2001 Amendment
The Amendment to Article I of the
Convention on Certain Conventional
Weapons was approved in
2001, with a view to further applying
the Convention on Conventional
Weapons and annexed Protocols to
non-international armed conflicts.
The Amendment reflects the status
of current international law, according
to which regulations on weapons
must be applicable to armed conflicts
of all types. There is no justification
to the use in non-international
armed conflicts of certain weapons
that are prohibited in international
armed conflicts due to the unspeakable
suffering they cause.
The Amendment to Article I of the
Convention on Certain Conventional
Weapons has been ratified by
4 States, 5 of which are from the
Americas.
1997 Convention on the
Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines
The 199 Convention on the Prohibition
of the Use, Stockpiling,
Production and Transfer of Anti-
Personnel Mines and on Their
Destruction (Ottawa Treaty) seeks
the complete eradication of these
weapons. It is based on customary
rules of international humanitarian
law applicable to all States, which
prohibit the use of weapons that do
not distinguish between civilians
and combatants or cause superflu-
Boris Heger/CICR
25
Report on the Participation of the States in the Relevant Treaties Concerning
International Humanitarian Law and its National Implementation