5 - Disarmament Law and the Protection of Civilians

Summary

Civilians can be protected by eradicating and reducing the availability of weapons that would harm them. While international humanitarian law and international human rights law regulate the use of weapons, international disarmament law outlaws weapons entirely, notably those which tend to have indiscriminate effects and thereby are particularly dangerous for civilians. This chapter considers how anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions, and chemical weapons have been outlawed by dedicated disarmament treaties. It also considers how the UN Arms Trade Treaty regulates and restricts the transfer of almost all conventional weapons.