Geneva Protocol 51834 224101671 2008-07-07T09:10:42Z RussBot 279219 Robot-assisted [[WP:D|disambiguation]]: French The '''Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare''', usually called the '''[[Geneva Protocol]]''', is a treaty prohibiting the first use of chemical and biological weapons. It was signed at [[Geneva]] on [[June 17]], [[1925]] and was entered into force on [[February 8]], [[1928]]. It prohibits the use of [[chemical weapon]]s and [[biological weapon]]s, but has nothing to say about production, storage or transfer. Later treaties did cover these aspects -- the [[1972]] [[Biological Weapons Convention]] and the [[1993]] [[Chemical Weapons Convention]]. A number of countries submitted reservations when becoming parties to the Geneva Protocol declaring that they only regarded the non-use obligations as applying to other parties and that these obligations would cease to apply if the prohibited weapons were used against them. ==History== Although it is popularly believed that the German army was the first to use gas it was in fact initially deployed by the [[France|French]]. In the first month of the war, August 1914, they fired tear-gas grenades ([[xylyl bromide]]) against the Germans. Chemical weapons were used by [[Germany]] in [[Ypres]], [[Belgium]] in 1915 by releasing [[chlorine gas]]. The [[Treaty of Versailles]] included some provisions that banned Germany from either manufacturing or importing chemical weapons. Similar treaties banned [[Austria]], [[Bulgaria]], and [[Hungary]] from chemical weapons. At the end of World War I, the Allies wanted to reaffirm the Treaty of Versailles, and the [[United States]] introduced the [[Washington Naval Treaty|Treaty of Washington]]. The [[United States Senate]] gave consent for ratification but it failed to enter into force. [[France]] objected to the submarine provisions of the treaty and thus the treaty failed. At the 1925 Geneva Conference for the Supervision of the International Traffic in Arms the French suggested a protocol for non-use of poisonous gases. Poland suggested the addition of bacteriological weapons. It was signed on June 17th. ==Chemical weapons prohibitions== {| class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="2" !width="50"|Date !width="225"|Name !width="225"|Effect |- |1675 |Strasbourg Agreement |The first international agreement limiting the use of chemical weapons, in this case, poison bullets. |- |1874 |Brussels Convention on the Law and Customs of War |Prohibited the employment of poison or poisoned weapons, and the use of arms, projectiles or material to cause unnecessary suffering. |- |1899 |1st Peace Conference at the Hague |European Nations prohibited "the use of projectiles whose sole purpose is the release of asphyxiating or harmful gases" |- |1907 |2nd Peace Conference at the Hague |The Conference added the use of poisons or poisoned weapons. |- |1919 |Treaty of Versailles |Prohibited poison gas in Germany (Added by E.Arms) |- |1922 |Treaty of Washington |Failed because France objected to clauses relating to submarine warfare. |- |1925 |Geneva Protocol |Prohibited the use of "asphyxiating gas, or any other kind of gas, liquids, substances or similar materials" |- |1972 |Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention |No verification mechanism, negotiations for a protocol to make up this lack halted by USA in 2001 |- |1993 |Chemical Weapons Convention Signed |Comprehensive bans on development, production, stockpiling and use of Chemical Weapons, with destruction timelines. |- |} ==External links== * [http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/sbtwc/keytext/genprot.htm The text of the protocol] * [http://www.sipri.org/contents/cbwarfare/cbw_research_doc/cbw_historical/cbw-hist-geneva-parties.html List of member states and reservations] by [[SIPRI]] * [http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/gas.htm Weapons of War: Poison Gas] [[Category:Biological warfare]] [[Category:Chemical warfare]] [[Category:Treaties]] [[Category:Human rights instruments]] [[de:Genfer Protokoll]] [[it:Protocollo di Ginevra]] [[nl:Protocol van Genève]] [[ja:ジュネーヴ議定書 (1925年)]] [[pt:Protocolo de Genebra]]