RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF BLINDING LASER WEAPONS AND LANDMINES
5th Report CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

CONDUCT OF THE INQUIRY

1.1     The texts and accompanying National Interest Analyses (NIAs) for Protocol IV and the amended Protocol II to the document known as the Inhumane Weapons Convention, dealing with blinding laser weapons and landmines respectively, were tabled in both Houses of Parliament on 15 October 1996.

1.2    While the formal title of this document is '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', the less formal title 'Inhumane Weapons Convention' (IWC) will be used for convenience in this report. This Convention was done on 10 October 1980 and came into force generally on 2 December 1983. Australia ratified it on 29 September 1983 and it came into effect for this country on 29 March 1984.

1.3    The IWC is an umbrella treaty under which specific agreements can be concluded in the form of Protocols. To become a Party to it, a State must ratify the Convention itself and two or more of the Protocols. There are two other Protocols to which Australia is also a Party: I, which prohibits the use of any weapon whose primary effect is to injure by using non-detectable fragments; and III, on the use of incendiary weapons against civilian populations. [1]

1.4     On 15 October 1996, the Committee agreed that an inquiry should be undertaken into Protocol IV and the amended Protocol II, with a view to making recommendations to the Parliament about ratification of these documents and any other relevant matters. As such a report could not have been tabled within the 15 sitting day period which is central to the reformed treaty-making process, the Minister for Foreign Affairs was advised that it would be tabled as early as practicable in 1997.

1.5     These two Protocols are the last of the treaties tabled on 15 October 1996 to be considered. As was pointed out in our 4th Report, which considered all the treaties tabled at that time, the national newspaper advertisement which sought submissions or comments on these Protocols received a limited response. [2]

1.6     Public hearings, with the emphasis on the amended Protocol II, were held in Canberra on 30 October, 2 and 3 December 1996. On 6 December 1996, a further public hearing was held at the Army Engineer Centre, Moorebank, NSW. This was preceded by a briefing on and demonstration of landmines and their technologies. The demonstration included marking of a minefield, observing a mine detection team in action, detonation of a landmine and watching a dog detect explosives under the direction of a handler. A final public hearing was held in Canberra on 3 February 1997.

1.7     Those people who gave evidence at the hearings are listed in Appendix 1; the submissions received are at Appendix 2. Reference material on both documents, from a range of sources, is listed in Appendix 3, although additional material, such as the reports of other Parliamentary committees and delegations has also been used. It represents a fraction of what has been written on blinding laser weapons and landmines, particularly on (the amended) Protocol II.

Footnotes

[1] Exhibit No 15, p 1

[2] Treaties Tabled on 15 & 29 October 1996, 4th Report, pp 2-3; The Weekend Australian, 19/20 October 1996, p 62.
     Only one request was received for some of the treaties tabled on 15 and 29 October 1996.

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