General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

3 August 1995

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

Fiftieth session
Item 74 of the provisional agenda*


        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

Report of the Secretary-General


1.   In its  resolution 49/79  of 15  December 1994,  the General  Assembly,
inter alia, recalled with  satisfaction the adoption, on 10 October 1980, of
the  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,  1/  together  with  the  Protocol  on  Non-
Detectable  Fragments  (Protocol  I),  1/ the  Protocol  on  Prohibitions or
Restrictions on the  Use of Mines,  Booby Traps and Other  Devices (Protocol
II)  1/ and  the  Protocol  on Prohibitions  or Restrictions  on the  Use of
Incendiary Weapons (Protocol  III); 1/ registered its satisfaction with  the
reports of  the Secretary-General (A/49/421, A/49/275 and Add.1 and A/49/357
and Add.1); urgently  called upon all  States that  had not  yet done so  to
take all measures to become parties, as soon as possible, to the  Convention
and upon  successor States to take  appropriate measures  so that ultimately
access  to  that  instrument  would  be   universal;  and  called  upon  the
Secretary-General, in his capacity as depositary  of the Convention and  its
three Protocols, to continue to inform it periodically of accessions to  the
Convention and the Protocols.

2.  Pursuant to the  request of the General  Assembly, the Secretary-General
submits herewith information on the actions  with respect to the  Convention
and  its three  Protocols  for the  period under  review,  that is,  from  1
September 1994  to 30  June 1995, which  is contained  in the  annex to  the
present report.




________________________

  *  A/50/150.


95-23145 (E)   210895/...
*9523145*

3.    As at  30 June  1995,  the following  50  States  were parties  to the
Convention:  Australia, Austria,  Belarus,  Benin, Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,
Belgium, Bulgaria,  Canada, China,  Croatia, Cuba,  Cyprus, Czech  Republic,
Denmark,  Ecuador,  Finland, France,  Germany,  Greece, Guatemala,  Hungary,
India,  Ireland, Israel,  Italy, Japan,  Lao People's  Democratic  Republic,
Latvia, Liechtenstein,  Malta, Mexico,  Mongolia, Netherlands, New  Zealand,
Niger,  Norway, Pakistan,  Poland, Russian  Federation, Slovakia,  Slovenia,
Spain,  Sweden,  Switzerland, Tunisia,  Ukraine,  United  Kingdom  of  Great
Britain  and  Northern  Ireland,  United  States  of  America,  Uruguay  and
Yugoslavia.


Notes

  1/   See The United  Nations Disarmament Yearbook,  vol. 5:   1980 (United
Nations publication, Sales No. E.81.IX.4), appendix VII.
ANNEX

              Actions in respect of the 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 and its three Protocols
              during the period from 1 September 1994 to 30 June 1995
  
StatesRatification, acceptance (A)
approval (AA) or accession (a) succession  (d)Acceptance pursuant to article
4, paragraphs 3 and 4

ProtocolsIIIIIIBelgium          7  February 1995XXXIreland          13 March
1995XXXIsrael a/      22 March 1995 (a)XXItaly       20 January 1995XXXMalta
    26 June 1995 (a)XXXUnited Kingdom of  Great Britain and Northern Ireland
b/        13  February 1995XXXUnited  States of  America c/         24 March
1995XXUruguay      6 October 1994 (a)XXX
  a/  Accepting Protocols  I and II and  with the following declarations and
understandings:

"1.  Declarations:

  (a)   With reference  to the scope of application  defined in article 1 of
the  Convention, the  Government  of  the  State of  Israel  will apply  the
provisions  of the Convention  and those  annexed Protocols  to which Israel
has  agreed to become bound  to all armed conflicts  involving regular armed
forces of States referred  to in article 2 common to the General Conventions
of 12 August 1949, as well as to all armed conflicts referred to in  article
3 common to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949.

  (b)  Article 7, paragraph 4, of the Convention will have no effect.

  (c)  The application of  this Convention will have no effect on the  legal
status of the parties to a conflict.

  "2.  Understandings:
 
________________________

  (a)  It  is the understanding  of the  Government of  the State of  Israel
that  the  compliance of  commanders  and  others responsible  for planning,
deciding  upon,  or  executing  attacks  to  which  the  Convention  and its
Protocols  apply,  cannot  be  judged  on  the  basis  of  information which
subsequently  comes to  light, but  must be  assessed  on  the basis  of the
information available to them at the time that such actions were taken.

  (b)   With  respect  to  Protocol  I,  it  is  the  understanding  of  the
Government  of Israel  that the  use of  plastics or  similar  materials for
detonators  or other  weapon  parts not  designed  to cause  injury  is  not
prohibited.

  (c)    With  respect  to  Protocol  I,  it  is the  understanding  of  the
Government of Israel that:

(i)Any  obligation to  record  the  location  of  remotely  delivered  mines
pursuant  to subparagraph  1 (a)  of article  5 refers  to the  location  of
minefields and not to the location of individual remotely delivered mines;

(ii)The term pre-planned, as used in subparagraph 1 (a) of article 7,  means
that the  position of the minefield in question should  have been determined
in advance  so that  an accurate  record of  the location of  the minefield,
when laid, can be made."

  b/  With the following declaration:

  (a)  Generally

  (i)The term  "armed  conflict"  of itself  and in  its  context denotes  a
situation of a kind which is not constituted  by the commission of  ordinary
crimes including acts of terrorism, whether concerted or in isolation.

  (ii)The United Kingdom will not, in relation to  any situation in which it
is  involved, consider  itself  bound  in  consequence  of  any  declaration
purporting to be made for  the purposes of article 7 (4), unless the  United
Kingdom shall have  expressly recognized that  it has  been made  by a  body
which is genuinely an  authority representing a people  engaged in an  armed
conflict of the type to which that paragraph applies.

  (iii)The  terms "civilian" and "civilian population" have the same meaning
as  in article  50  of the  first Additional  Protocol of  1977 to  the 1949
Geneva Conventions.  Civilians shall enjoy  the protection afforded by  this
Convention  unless  and  for  such  time  as  they  take a  direct  part  in
hostilities.
________________________

  (iv)Military commanders and others responsible for planning, deciding  on,
or executing  attacks necessarily have  to reach decisions  on the  basis of
their  assessment of the  information from  all sources  which is reasonably
available to them at the relevant time.

  (b)  Re:  Protocol II, article 2; and Protocol III, article 1

  A specific area  of land  may be a military  objective if, because of  its
location or other  reasons specified in this  article, its total or  partial
destruction, capture or  neutralization in the  circumstances ruling  at the
time offers a definite military advantage.

  (c)  Re:  Protocol II, article 3

  In the  view of  the United  Kingdom, the  military advantage  anticipated
from an attack  is intended to refer to  the advantage anticipated from  the
attack considered as a whole and not only  from isolated or particular parts
of the attack.

  (d)  Re:  Protocol III, article 2

  The United Kingdom accepts the provisions of article  2 (2) and (3) on the
understanding that  the terms  of those  paragraphs of  that article  do not
imply that the air-delivery of incendiary weapons, or  of any other weapons,
projectiles or munitions, is less accurate or less capable of being  carried
out discriminately than all or any other means of delivery.

  c/  With the following reservations, declaration and understandings:

  (1)  Reservation:

  Article  7 (4) (b) of the  Convention shall not  apply with respect to the

United States.

  (2)  Declaration:

  The  United States declares,  with reference  to the  scope of application
defined in article 1  of the Convention, that  the United States  will apply
the provisions of the  Convention, Protocol I  and Protocol II to all  armed
conflicts referred to in  articles 2 and 3 common to the Geneva  Conventions
for the Protection of War Victims of 12 August 1949.

  (3)  Understanding:

  The United States understands  that article 6 (1)  of Protocol II does not
prohibit  the adaptation for use as booby traps  of portable objects created
for a purpose other than as a booby trap if  the adaptation does not violate
paragraph (1) (b) of the article.
________________________

  (4)  Understanding:

  The United States considers  that the fourth paragraph of the preamble  to
the Convention,  which refers to  the substance of provisions  of article 35
(3) and article  55 (1) of Additional Protocol  I to the Geneva  Conventions
for the Protection of  War Victims of 12 August 1949, applies only to States
which have accepted those provisions.


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