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Depleted Uranium - Status in international humanitarian law

No international treaty currently bans the production or use of DU weapons. Indeed, DU weapons are not chemical or biological weapons, therefore they cannot be considered to be illegal under the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention and the 1996 Chemical Weapons Convention. They are not nuclear weapons either and thus cannot be banned under the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. However:

(1) the use of DU weapons goes against established principles of humanitarian law, notably principles of the Geneva Conventions and some UN guidelines relative to:

- the protection of civilian populations (See Articles 48 and 51.4 above)

- the limitation of unnecessary human suffering (Art.35.2)

- the limitation of damage to the environment (Art. 35.3 and 55.1)

Art. 35.2: It is prohibited to employ weapons, projectiles and material and methods of warfare of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering

Art. 35.3: It is prohibited to employ methods or means of warfare which are intended, or may be expected, to cause widespread, long- term and severe damage to the natural environment

Art. 55.1: Care shall be taken in warfare to protect the natural environment against widespread, long-term and severe damage. This protection includes a prohibition of the use of methods or means of warfare which are intended or may be expected to cause such damage to the natural environment and thereby to prejudice the health or survival of the population

Until scientific studies establish the precise health impact of DU on the human body, armed forces should refrain from using DU weapons on the battlefield, and especially in built-up areas, for fear of committing potential “war crimes” (Doug Rokke, The Sunday Mirror 3.8.03). The effects of depleted uranium are indiscriminate and even when used on military targets, DU weapons leave a chemical and radioactive toxic residue which can spread over large areas.

As for the environmental damage, several studies by the UN Environment Programme (Unep) highlight the negative environmental effects of DU. Through studies in Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Unep found that contamination levels are generally very low, limited to a couple of metres around the impact of the projectile, and do not constitute an immediate radioactive or toxic hazard for the environment or human health (Unep 2003b). But the report on Bosnia and Herzegovina, published in March 2003, while confirming low levels of ground contamination, found proof of groundwater contamination (seven years after the conflict) and recommended the use of alternative water sources. Also, Unep scientists detected air contamination in some of the sites studied and recommended a decontamination of the buildings in use on these sites. If damage to the environment is thus proved, the use of DU should be contrary to article 35.3 of Protocol I.

(2) after NATO's use of DU weapons in the Kosovo campaign in 1999, the Council of Europe parliamentarians called for a world ban on the production, testing, use and sale of DU weapons, asserting that NATO's use of DU would have "long term effects on health and quality of life in South-East Europe, affecting future generations" (Council of Europe 24.1.01).

(3) the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities issued two Resolutions (United Nations 1996a; United Nations 1997) on the need to stop the production and use of weapons of mass destruction, including DU weapons:

“The Sub-Commission […] urges all States to be guided in their national policies by the need to curb the production and the spread of weapons of mass destruction or with indiscriminate effect, in particular nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, fuel-air bombs, napalm, cluster bombs, biological weaponry and weaponry containing depleted uranium” (United Nations 1996b)

Although DU weapons are not illegal, their use goes against basic principles of international humanitarian law as (1) they have the potential to contaminate groundwater reserves and pollute the air (2) they have the potential to cause cancer and have other long- term negative health effects on combatants and civilians. Moreover, the use of anti-tank DU weapons and bunker buster DU-tipped bombs on above ground civilian targets in the centre of Baghdad during the war increased urban populations’ exposure to DU, which can only exacerbate the potential negative effects of DU on civilians. This is why many people believe that DU should be made illegal under international customary law.

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Last Revised: 4/7/2004

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