The CCW established binding international rules prohibiting or restricting conventional weapons deemed excessively injurious or indiscriminate in effect.
Key Facts
- Concluded
- October 10, 1980
- Entered into force
- December 1983
- Full treaty name
- Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons
- Weapons covered
- Land mines, booby traps, incendiary devices, blinding lasers, explosive remnants
- Administering body
- United Nations
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Growing international concern through the 1970s over the humanitarian toll of certain conventional weapons — particularly indiscriminate or excessively injurious devices such as land mines, incendiary weapons, and booby traps — prompted multilateral negotiations under UN auspices to establish clearer legal limits on their use in armed conflict.
On October 10, 1980, the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons was concluded in Geneva. The treaty prohibits or restricts the use of conventional weapons considered excessively injurious or having indiscriminate effects, covering land mines, booby traps, incendiary devices, blinding laser weapons, and the clearance of explosive remnants of war.
The convention entered into force in December 1983 and created a framework for ongoing protocols addressing specific weapon categories, forming a key part of international humanitarian law and influencing subsequent arms control efforts targeting landmines and cluster munitions.
Political Outcome
Treaty concluded and opened for signature, entering into force in December 1983, establishing international prohibitions and restrictions on certain conventional weapons.