Protocol III is one of five protocols annexed to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), the umbrella treaty adopted in Geneva on 10 October 1980 that restricts weapons deemed excessively injurious or indiscriminate. Protocol III, titled the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons, entered into force on 2 December 1983 alongside the parent Convention.
The Protocol defines an incendiary weapon as a weapon or munition primarily designed to set fire to objects or cause burn injuries through flame, heat, or a combination thereof, produced by a chemical reaction. Article 1 explicitly excludes munitions with incidental incendiary effects such as illuminants, tracers, smoke, and signalling systems, as well as munitions designed to combine penetration, blast, or fragmentation effects with an additional incendiary effect (a carve-out often debated in relation to white phosphorus).
Key operative provisions in Article 2 include:
- An absolute prohibition on making civilians or civilian objects the object of attack with incendiary weapons.
- A prohibition on attacking any military objective located within a concentration of civilians using air-delivered incendiary weapons.
- A restriction on the use of non-air-delivered incendiary weapons against military objectives in civilian areas unless the target is clearly separated from civilians and feasible precautions are taken.
- A prohibition on attacking forests or other plant cover with incendiary weapons, except when such natural elements are used to conceal combatants or other military objectives.
The distinction between air-delivered and ground-delivered weapons, and the partial exclusion of multi-purpose munitions like white phosphorus, has drawn sustained criticism from the ICRC, Human Rights Watch, and Article 36, particularly after reported use in Iraq (Fallujah, 2004), Gaza (2008–09), Syria, and Ukraine. Review conferences in 2011 and 2016 considered tightening the text, but states parties did not reach consensus to amend it.
Example
In 2009, Human Rights Watch argued that Israel's use of white phosphorus munitions in densely populated areas of Gaza raised serious concerns under the framework of CCW Protocol III.