Yes. The Hague Conventions and the Geneva Protocol – not to be confused with the Geneva Conventions –, drafted by various countries from 1899 to the late 1990s, restrict the use of eight types of weapons on the battlefield. In practice, however, almost every type of prohibited weaponry continues to be used in warfare. The agreements are not taken seriously because not all documents were signed by the nations that participated in the discussions. The US, for example, has never supported the protocol that prohibits the use of incendiary weapons since 1980. In general, these treaties serve to mark the outcome of major international wars, functioning as an instrument of punishment for the defeated – exempting, however, winners who used prohibited weapons.
Outlaw
Eight categories of weapons are banned in war, but bomb on the battlefields
EXPANSIVE PROJECTILES
The Hague Convention prohibits, since 1988, destructive ammunition, such as the hollow point projectile. When it hits a soft target, such as the human body, the impact pressure makes the tip unfurl, increasing the bullet’s diameter and, consequently, the damage caused.
ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFICATIONS
Since 1977, the Geneva Convention prohibits any military act that affects or destroys the environment. A recent case of environmental modification was the burning of oil fields in Iraq by the Americans in 1991 – the US was never punished for this.
LASER GUNS
Another preventative ban! There are even laser weapons, like the designator. It is used to mark ground targets, indicating the target for high-precision missiles. What you cannot do is point the laser at human beings, causing blindness, for example.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
In 1968, the number of atomic bombs per country was limited by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The complement of this treaty, in 1995, prohibited the development and acquisition of nuclear weapons, in addition to demanding a gradual disarmament of countries with an atomic arsenal.
INCENDIARY WEAPONS
In war, in theory, it is not worth burning people or civilian areas. Burning down military installations, on the other hand, is in the game, as long as the target is not in or near urban areas. Firing incendiary bombs from the air also cannot
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
The first ban on weapons with chemical or biological agents began in 1907 – the last version of the convention dates from 1993. Two killer examples of this category are VX gas, which kills in 30 minutes at most, and anthrax, which causes infections and wounds
NON-DETECTABLE FRAGMENTS
Some bans are preventative and take effect before the weapon is used in combat. This is the case of explosives that shatter into fragments that are impossible to detect via X-ray. In other words, metallic fragments can, but grenades or mines that break into deadly pieces of plastic, no way!
MINES AND TRAPS
The 1997 Ottawa treaty prohibits the use of antipersonnel mines, such as the Claymore. The model has an outer layer with 680 g of plastic explosive. In detonation, small steel spheres are launched at high speed, being lethal up to 50 m from the explosion.
Read too:
– What was the Cold War?
– Is it true that France lost all the wars?
– What is prohibited by law in a war?