The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in fulfillment of its responsibility for the promotion and development of international humanitarian law, has become increasingly concerned with the threat posed by blinding laser weapons to civilians and soldiers alike.

The ICRC agrees with the view of numerous military, legal and medical experts who consider blinding as a method of warfare to be a superfluous injury and a cause of unnecessary suffering, both of which are prohibited under existing international humanitarian law.

However, given that this view may not be universally shared and that uncertainties may lead to the future deployment of anti-personnel lasers, the ICRC strongly supports an explicit prohibition on blinding as a method of warfare in the context of international treaty law.

Both the ICRC and Sweden have proposed amendments to the 1980 UN Weapons Convention which would prohibit blinding as a method of warfare. The August 1994 Meeting of Governmental Experts to prepare amendments to the 1980 UN Convention, 12 countries from Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific expressed support for the ICRC and Swedish proposals. These amendments will be considered for adoption by a Review Conference of States Parties to the 1980 UN Weapons Convention which will be convened in September 1995.

The 1995 Review Conference of States Parties to the 1980 UN Weapons Convention presents a unique and probably unrepeatable opportunity to stigmatize blinding as a method of warfare and thereby prevent a new wave of unnecessary human suffering.

Public abhorrence at the sight of poison-gas victims 80 years ago led to the 1925 Geneva Protocol prohibiting the use of chemical and biological weapons in warfare. This was an important factor in ensuring that such weapons were used in only a few of the many hundreds of armed conflicts since World War I. It also contributed to the achievement of global bans on biological and chemical weapons, in 1972 and 1993 respectively.

The ICRC and Swedish proposals aim to establish a norm against blinding which would be contained in a new Protocol to the 1980 UN Convention. Both focus only on the use of blinding weapons but it is intended that the establishment of a rule against their use would also discourage the development, production and transfer of weapons designed for the purpose of blinding. At a later date specific prohibitions on the production, possession and transfer of certain lasers designed for anti-personnel use may be considered. Neither the ICRC nor the Swedish proposal, which are considered compatible, would require lengthy negotiations or detailed technical discussions.

A prohibition on blinding as a method of warfare would in no way impinge on the many other uses of lasers by military forces or their use for medical, industrial or other civilian purposes.

The International Committee of the Red Cross appeals to ordinary citizens, military personnel, parliamentarians and organizations concerned with the protection of humanity to ensure that in 1995 intentional blinding is specifically prohibited under international law. The ICRC appeals to the conscience of humanity to ensure that a flood of blinded soldiers or civilians will not be needed before intentional blinding is also outlawed.

* Taken from the International Committee of the Red Cross campaign brochure, Blinding Weapons, Geneva, September 1994.