Using poison gas or other toxins in war
Chemical warfare (CW ) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons .[ 1] [ 2] This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare , biological warfare and radiological warfare , which together make up CBRN , the military acronym for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (warfare or weapons), all of which are considered "weapons of mass destruction " (WMDs), a term that contrasts with conventional weapons .[ 3]
The use of chemical weapons in international armed conflicts is prohibited under international humanitarian law by the 1925 Geneva Protocol and the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 .[ 4] [ 5] The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits signatories from acquiring, stockpiling, developing, and using chemical weapons in all circumstances except for very limited purposes (research, medical, pharmaceutical or protective).[ 6] [ 7]
^ étrangères, Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires. "Fighting Chemical Weapons" . France Diplomacy - Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs . Retrieved February 13, 2025 .
^ P. Lee, Steven. "Weapons of Mass Destruction: Are They Morally Special?". Published online by Cambridge University Press .
^ "Weapons of mass destruction" . FPS Foreign Affairs - Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation . January 18, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2025 .
^ Anne Lorenzat (2017–2018). "The Current State of Customary International Law with regard to the Use of Chemical Weapons in Non-International Armed Conflicts" . The Military Law and the Law of War Review .
^ Jillian Blake & Aqsa Mahmud (October 15, 2013). "A Legal "Red Line"? Syria and the Use of Chemical Weapons in Civil Conflict" . UCLA Law Review .
^ "Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction" . United Nations Treaty Collection. January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2018 .
^ "Chemical weapon - WMD, Toxins, Agents | Britannica" . www.britannica.com . Retrieved February 13, 2025 .