Weapons Already Banned
There are already international conventions prohibiting biological weapons, chemical weapons, land mines and cluster munitions, but no comparable treaty – as yet – for nuclear weapons. The international community must address this legal anomaly. As with the negotiating processes that resulted in treaties banning land mines and cluster munitions, likeminded governments should work in close partnership with civil society to bring about a nuclear weapons ban regardless of resistance from states possessing the weapons.

• BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
  1972 – Banned under the Biological Weapns Convention
  See The Biological Weapons Convention – Overview and prospects; source: 4th National Institutional Biosafety Committee Forum, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 7 June 2011
• CHEMICAL WEAPONS
  1993 – Banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention
• LAND MINES
  1997 – Banned under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty
  
  See Also: International Campaign to Ban Landmines
• CLUSTER MUNITIONS
  2008 – Banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions
  
  See Also: The Cluster Munition Coalition, an international civil society campaign working to eradicate cluster munitions, prevent further casualties from these weapons and put an end to the suffering they cause.

For more on this subject see Humanitarian Disarmament.
Humanitarian disarmament seeks to both prevent future harm and assist people affected by conflict. The framework addresses a range of different weapons and technologies from small arms to nuclear weapons, as detailed in the Portfolio of challenges:

• Antipersonnel Landmines
• Autonomous Weapons
• Biological Weapons
• Chemical Weapons
• Cluster Munitions
• Controlling Arms Transfers
• Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas
• Incendiary Weapons
• “Less Lethal” Weapons
• Nuclear Weapons
• Toxic Remnants of War and Depleted Uranium

 

 

Weapons Already Banned
There are already international conventions prohibiting biological weapons, chemical weapons, land mines and cluster munitions, but no comparable treaty – as yet – for nuclear weapons. The international community must address this legal anomaly. As with the negotiating processes that resulted in treaties banning land mines and cluster munitions, likeminded governments should work in close partnership with civil society to bring about a nuclear weapons ban regardless of resistance from states possessing the weapons.

• BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
  1972 – Banned under the Biological Weapns Convention
  See The Biological Weapons Convention – Overview and prospects; source: 4th National Institutional Biosafety Committee Forum, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 7 June 2011
• CHEMICAL WEAPONS
  1993 – Banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention
• LAND MINES
  1997 – Banned under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty
  
  See Also: International Campaign to Ban Landmines
• CLUSTER MUNITIONS
  2008 – Banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions
  
  See Also: The Cluster Munition Coalition, an international civil society campaign working to eradicate cluster munitions, prevent further casualties from these weapons and put an end to the suffering they cause.

For more on this subject see Humanitarian Disarmament.
Humanitarian disarmament seeks to both prevent future harm and assist people affected by conflict. The framework addresses a range of different weapons and technologies from small arms to nuclear weapons, as detailed in the Portfolio of challenges:

• Antipersonnel Landmines
• Autonomous Weapons
• Biological Weapons
• Chemical Weapons
• Cluster Munitions
• Controlling Arms Transfers
• Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas
• Incendiary Weapons
• “Less Lethal” Weapons
• Nuclear Weapons
• Toxic Remnants of War and Depleted Uranium