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Formal Title: PROTOCOL FOR THE PROHIBITION OF THE USE IN WAR OF ASPHYXIATING, POISONOUS, OR OTHER GASES, AND OF BACTERIOLOGICAL METHODS OF WARFARE
Summary:
The 1925 Geneva Protocol prohibits the use of chemical or bacteriological (biological) weapons. The Protocol does not, however, ban the development or stockpiling of such weapons.
Before World War II the protocol was ratified by many countries, including all the great powers except the United States and Japan. When they ratified or acceded to the protocol, some nations--including China, the United Kingdom, France, and the USSR--declared that it would cease to be binding on them if their enemies, or the allies of their enemies, failed to respect the prohibitions of the protocol.
On 7-11 January 1989, 149 states met in Paris for a Conference on Chemical Weapons Use. In the Final Declaration, the states "solemnly affirm their commitments not to use chemical weapons and condemn such use." Among other things, they also recognized the importance of the Geneva Protocol, reaffirmed the prohibitions as established in it, and called upon all states which have not yet done so to accede to the Protocol.
For more in-depth information, please consult the Inventory of Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes, which can be found on the CNS website at: http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/.
China and the Geneva Protocol:
China has been a party to the Geneva Protocol since 1929. China ratified the Protocol with reservations attached. On 13 July 1952, China declared it would abide by the Geneva Protocol as long as the other signatories did the same--if any enemy, or ally of an enemy, failed to comply with the Protocol, China would cease to be bound by its provisions.
China has consistently declared that it opposes the possession, development, and use of chemical weapons, although the United States has alleged that China still has a chemical weapons program--a charge that China denies.
[Sources: Walter C. Clemens, Jr., "China," in Richard Dean Burns, ed., Encyclopedia of Arms Control and Disarmament, Vol. 1, p. 62.]
Key statements/documents on China and the Geneva Protocol:
For more on the China and chemical and biological nonproliferation issues generally, see:[CHINA AND CBW NONPROLIFERATION]
[CHRONOLOGY OF BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS-RELATED STATEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENTS]
[CHRONOLOGY OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS-RELATED STATEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENTS]
Other international agreements and organizations related to CBW proliferation:
[CHINA AND THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC)]
[CHINA AND THE BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (BWC)]
[CHINA AND THE AUSTRALIA GROUP (AG)]
This
material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for
Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and
does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently
verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007
by MIIS.
