Related resources

Cluster Munitions
Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
Landmines and the Ottawa Convention
Small arms and light weapons
Wellington Conference on Clustermunitions website 2008

External Links

Text of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons

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Home > Foreign Relations > Global Issues > Disarmament > conventional weapons

Disarmament and arms control

Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons

Current Key Issues

New Zealand played an active role in the CCW Review Conference in November 2006.
New Zealand co-chaired sessions of an international meeting in Oslo on 22/23 November to set an action plan for negotiation of a new legally-binding instrument on cluster munitions. This initiative recognises the serious humanitarian impact of the use of cluster munitions on civilian populations, for example in Lebanon.

Recent speeches and statements

Pressure Builds Against Cluster Munitions - Hon Phil Goff 28 May 2007 [external link]
NZ to host major cluster munitions conference - Hon Phil Goff 22 May 2007 [external link]
New Zealand takes lead against Cluster Munitions - Hon Phil Goff 22 February 2007 [external link]
3rd Review Conference of the Convention on Conventional Weapons 17 November 2006
UNGA 61 : First Committee : Thematic Debate - Conventional Weapons Thursday 12 October 2006
Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control press release on a United Nations resolution on an Arms Trade Treaty 28 September 2006 [external link]
New Zealand statement to the United Nations Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons 26 June 2006 (PDF 182KB)
New Zealand Statement to the CCW Working Group on Explosive Remnants of War 5 September 2006
Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control speech at the Launch of the 2006 edition of the Landmine Monitor 13 September 2006 [external link]

What Does the Convention Do?

The Convention on the Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects (the CCW) [link to treaty] is a framework treaty under which individual protocols annexed to the Convention regulate or prohibit the use of specific categories of weapons.

The CCW and its Protocols seek to protect civilians from the effects of indiscriminate weapons used in an armed conflict and to protect combatants (and more indirectly civilians) from superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering. 100 states have acceded to the Convention.

The main obligations contained in the different Protocols annexed to the CCW are summarised below:

Protocol I: prohibits the use of weapons that employ fragments not detectable in the human body by X-ray.
Protocol II: regulates the use of landmines, booby-traps and similar devices.
Protocol III: regulates the use of incendiary weapons (e.g. flame throwers, rockets, grenades).
Protocol IV: prohibits the use of blinding laser weapons.
Protocol V: addresses explosive remnants of war (ERW).

What is New Zealand’s involvement to date?

New Zealand is a party to the CCW and to four of the five Protocols annexed to the CCW but has yet to become a party to Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War. New Zealand is actively considering ratification of Protocol V.

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Page last updated: Tuesday, 11 March 2008 12:38 NZDT

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