First Attempts to Ban Chemical Weapons

First attempts to ban chemical weapons (CW) as a method of warfare have been made since the second half of the XIX century. At the beginning of the XX century, several legal documents – declarations, protocols and conventions, forbidding the use of poisons, poisonous weapons, poisonous and asphyxiating gases and means of their delivery, have been adopted at the international level. But all these documents, including the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the 1925 Geneva Protocol, turned out to be useless and ineffective as a means of deterrence. They could prevent neither large-scale use of CW in World War I, nor their further development. Instead of the assistance to the prohibition of CW, in fact they assisted their legalization and further arms race. The article is dedicated to the history of first efforts to ban CW by international treaties. It describes in details the circumstances of the elaboration of these declarations, protocols and conventions in connection with other general security problems, their further adoption or breakdown. Special attention is paid to the attitude towards CW at the beginning of the XX century and their use as a means of pressure and propaganda.

1. Johnson N.H., Larsen J.C., Meek E. Historical perspective of chemical warfare agents // Handbook of toxicology of chemical warfare agents / Ed. Gupta R.. Second Ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Academic Press, 2015. Р. 7–15.

2. Bajgar J., Fusek J., Kassa J., Kuca K., Jun D. Global impact of chemical warfare agents used before and after 1945 // Handbook of toxicology of chemical warfare agents / Ed. Gupta R. Second Ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Academic Press, 2015. P. 17–25.

3. Hilmas C.J., Smart J.K., Hill B.A. History of chemical warfare // Medical aspects of chemical warfare. Textbooks of military medicine / Ed. Lenhart M.K. Washington DC, 2008. Р. 9–76.

4. Coleman K. A history of chemical warfare. New York: MacMillan, 2005. 198 р.

5. Zanders J.P. International norms against chemical and biological warfare: an ambiguous legacy // J. Conflict & Security Law. 2003. V. 8, № 2. Р. 391–410.

6. Raičević N. The history of prohibition of the use of chemical weapons in international humanitarian law // Facta Universitatis. Series: Law and Politics. 2001. V. 1, № 5. Р. 613–631.

7. Instructions for the government of armies of the United States in the field. Prepared by Francis Lieber LL. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1898. 51 p.

8. Martens F. The Eastern war and the Brussels conference 1874–1878. St. Petersburg.1879. 596 p., with att. (46 p.) (in Russian).

9. Project of an international declaration concerning the laws and customs of war. Brussels, 27 August 1874. URL: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=42F78058BABF9C51C12563CD002D6659., https://www.legaltools.org/doc/af7da3/pdf/.

10. Kapto A.S. Law of war // Law and Politics. 2001. № 1. P. 4–11. URL: http://alternathistory.com/pravo-voiny (in Russian).

11. Declaration renouncing the use, in time of war, of explosive projectiles under 400 grammes weight. Saint Petersburg, 29 November / 11 December 1868. URL: http://old.memo.ru/prawo/hum/spb-1868.htm/ (in Russian).

12. The laws of war on land, manual published by the Institute of International Law (Oxford manual), adopted by the Institute of International Law at Oxford, September 9, 1880. URL: http://humanrts.umn.edu/instree/1880a.htm.

13. Rybachenok I.S. Russia and the first Hague peace conference of 1890. Moscow: Russian Political Encyclopaedia (ROSSPEN), 2005. 392 p. (in Russian).

14. Convention with respect to the laws and customs of war on land (Hague, II) (29 July 1899). URL: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/hague02.asp.

15. Texts of the peace conferences at the Hague, 1899 and 1907. With English translation and appendix of related documents / Ed., with an introduction, Scott J.B.. Boston– London, 1908. Р. 81–83.

16. Kelly J.B. Gas warfare in international law // Military Law Review. July 1960. P. 1–67.

17. Bunn G. Banning poison gas and Germ warfare: should the United States agree? // Wisconsin Law Review. 1969. V. 375. P. 375–420.

18. Fries A., West C. Chemical warfare. New-York, London. 1921. 445 р. (Фрайс А., Вест К. Химическая война. М., 1923. 506 с.).

19. Memorandum from Sir J. Fisher to the Marquess of Salisbury, July 20, 1899, upon the question of asphyxiating gases. Цит. по: Roberts A.A. The poison war. London: William Heinemann, 1915. 143 р.

20. The proceeding of the Hague peace conferences. Translation of the official texts. The conference of 1899. New-York, 1920. 883 р.

21. Travinichev A., Tomashevich A. Submarine war experience 1914–1918 г. Moscow, 1931. 181 p. (in Russian).

22. Gibson P., Prendergast M. The German submarine war 1914-1918. Transl. from Engl. Moscow, 1935. 464 p. (in Russian).

23. Convention with respect to the laws and customs of war on land, October 18, 1907. 18-10-1907. URL: https://www.icrc.org/rus/resources/documents/misc/hagueconvention-iv-181007.htm (in Russian).

24. The proceedings of the Hague peace conferences. Translation of the official texts. The conference of 1907. Volume I. Plenary meetings of the Conference. New-York, 1921. 703 р.

25. The proceedings of the Hague peace conferences. Translation of the official texts. The conference of 1907. Volume II. Meetings of the first commission. New-York, 1921. 1086 р.

26. The proceedings of the Hague peace conferences. Translation of the official texts. The conference of 1907. Volume III. Meetings of the second, third and fourth commissions. New-York, 1921. 1162 р.

27. Laws and customs of land warfare. Edited by the German Great General Staff, 1902. Transl. from Germ. Colonel (GS) Michelson. St. Petersburg., 1904. 76 p. (in Russian).

28. Asphyxiating gases. 3 edition. Moscow, 1916. 19 с. (in Russian).

29. Cap. Geyer. Chemical warfare (from: The Great War 1914–1918. Ed. Schwarte). Moscow: GVI, 1924. 81 p. (in Russian).

30. Dzerzhkovich A. The humanity of gas warfare // Techniques and Logistics of the Red Army. The Artillery Affairs. 1923. № 44-45, Oct. 1. P. 1–7 (in Russian).

31. Fishman Ya. M. Gas warfare. Moscow, 1924. P. 36–43 (in Russian).

32. De-Lazari A.N. Chemical weapons on the fronts of the World War 1914-1918: A brief historical essay / Sci. Ed Supotnitskiy M.V. Moscow, 2008. URL: http://www.supotnitskiy.ru/book/book5_kommentarii1_10.htm (in Russian).

33. Farrow E.S. Gas Warfare. New-York, 1920. 253 p.

34. Russia in World War 1914–1918 (in figures). Moscow, 1925 (in Russian).

35. Tirpitz Аlfred von. My memoirs. Moscow: Veche, 2014. 447 p. (in Russian).

36. Treaty of peace with Germany (treaty of Versailles). Transl. from French orig. Moscow, 1925. 197 p. (in Russian).

37. Smart J.K., Al Mauroni, Hill B.A., Kok L.B. History of the chemical threat, chemical terrorism, and its implications for military medicine // Medical aspects of chemical warfare. 2008. P. 115–153.

38. Treaty of peace between the Allied and Associated Powers and Austria; protocol, declaration and special declaration (St. Germain-en-Laye, 10 September 1919). URL: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1920/3.html.

39. Treaty of peace between the Allied and Associated Powers and Hungary and protocol and declaration, signed at Trianon June 4, 1920. URL: https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Part_V_-_VIII.

40. Treaty of peace between the Allied and Associated Powers and Bulgaria, and protocol and declaration signed at Neuilly-sur-Seine, 27 November 1919. URL: https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Treaty_of_Neuilly.

41. Treaty relating to the use of submarines and noxious gases in warfare. Washington, 6 February 1922. URL: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=7F0E4920E26AB9C2C12563CD002D6907.

42. The problem of chemical and biological warfare, Volume III: CBW and the law of war. SIPRI. 1973. 194 p.

43. Zanders J.P. The CWC in the context of the 1925 Geneva debates // The Nonproliferation Review / Spring– Summer 1996. P. 38–45.

44. Protocol for the prohibition of the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and of bacteriological methods of warfare. June 17, 1925. URL: https://www.icrc.org/rus/resources/documents/misc/protocol-gases-170625.htm (in Russian).

45. Brown F.J. Chemical warfare. A study in restraints. Princeton legacy library, 2015. 375 р.

46. Declaration of the accession of the USSR to the Protocol for the prohibition of the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and of bacteriological methods of warfare, signed in Geneva June 17, 1925. URL: http://www.lawmix.ru/abro.php?id=1697 (in Russian).

47. United Nations monitoring, verification and inspection commission (UNMOVIC). Compendium of Iraq`s proscribed weapons programmes in the chemical, biological and missile areas. June 2007. Part III. 343 p.

48. Twenty-fifth quarterly report on the activities of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission in accordance with paragraph 12 of Security Council resolution 1284 (1999). 30 May 2006. S/2006/342. 17 c. (in Russian).

49. The Iraqi chemical weapons program in perspective. An intelligence assessment. January 1985, iii. CIA-RDP90T01298R000300670001-8.

50. Volevodz A.G., Volevodz V.A. Historical and legal background to the formation of modern system of international criminal justice // International criminal law and international justice. 2008. № 2. P. 3–15 (in Russian).

51. Zhigur Ya.M. Chemical weapons in modern warfare. Moscow, 1936. 175 p. (in Russian).

52. Spiers E.M. Chemical warfare. University of Illinois Press Urbana and Chicago, 1986. 277 p.

53. McCamley N.J. Secret history of chemical warfare. 2006.

54. Jones S. World War 1 gas warfare tactics and equipment.

55. Society for chemical victims support. Tehran, Iran. URL: http://www.scwvs.org/index.php/fa/ (in Persian).