Iran may ratify only 2 protocols of CCW

Brigadier General Reza Talaee Nik, the Iranian Defense Ministry’s spokesman and also the ministry’s deputy for planning and parliamentary affairs, provided an explanation for the process of Iran’s probable accession to the CCW.

Usually referred to as the CCW, the ‘Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects’, is an international humanitarian law instrument with the purpose of banning or restricting the use of specific types of weapons that are considered to cause unnecessary or unjustifiable suffering to combatants or to affect civilians indiscriminately.

The Iranian Parliament has started to work on a bill that would allow the country to become a signatory to the convention.

The CCW has five protocols.

Brigadier General Talaee Nik said the parliamentary bill has been introduced with the approval and under the supervision of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.

Stressing the need to avoid making hasty judgements or comments about the bill without a detailed review of its contents, the spokesperson said Iran will ratify only two of the five protocols of the CCW.

He stated that Iran has thoroughly scrutinized the convention from the military, security and legal aspects and has decided to approve only two protocols, namely Protocol I and V.

The Defense Ministry spokesman noted that the CCW does not apply to any of Iran’s equipment, ammunitions or weapons.

If passed, the parliamentary bill will allow Iran, at the behest of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, to ratify those two protocols alone to let the country enjoy the convention’s opportunities as well as international and defense benefits like the 131 parties that have signed it so far, Talaee Nik added.

The Protocol I of the CCW, known as ‘Non-Detectable Fragments’, prohibits the use of any weapon designed to injure by fragments which cannot be detected in the human body by X-rays.

The Protocol V about ‘Explosive Remnants of War’ prevents and minimizes the humanitarian impact of unexploded ordnance and abandoned explosive weapons. It includes provisions on clearance and destruction of ERW, measures for the protection of civilians, recording the use of explosive ordnance, international cooperation and assistance, and victim assistance.