Geneva Protocol of 1925

The Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, usually called the Geneva Protocol, is a treaty to ban the use of chemical and biological weapons. It was signed at Geneva on June 17, 1925. It prohibits the use of chemical weapons and biological weapons, but has nothing to say about production, storage or transfer. It was the governing document on biological and chemical weapons during World War II.

Background

At the end of World War I, the victorious Allies decided to reaffirm in the Versailles Treaty (1919) the pre-war prohibition of the use of poisonous gases and to forbid Germany to manufacture or import them. Similar provisions were included in the peace treaties with Austria, Bulgaria, and Hungary.

Drawing upon the language of these peace treaties, the United States - at the Washington Disarmament Conference of 1922 - took the initiative of introducing a similar provision into a treaty on submarines and noxious gases. The U.S. Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification of this treaty without a dissenting vote. It never entered into force, however, since French ratification was necessary, and France objected to the submarine provisions.

At the 1925 Geneva Conference for the Supervision of the International Traffic in Arms, the United States similarly took the initiative of seeking to prohibit the export of gases for use in war. At French suggestion it was decided to draw up a protocol on non-use of poisonous gases and at the suggestion of Poland the prohibition was extended to bacteriological weapons. Signed on June 17, 1925, the Geneva Protocol thus restated the prohibition previously laid down by the Versailles and Washington treaties and added a ban on bacteriological warfare.

Before World War II the protocol was ratified by many countries, including all the great powers except the United States and Japan. The United States did not sign on until 1972.

When they ratified or acceded to the protocol, some nations -- including the United Kingdom, France, and the USSR -- declared that it would cease to be binding on them if their enemies, or the allies of their enemies, failed to respect the prohibitions of the protocol. This declaration probably played a major role in the Axis powers deciding not to use chemical weapons during the war. The threat of retaliation proved to be an effective deterrent throughout the war.

The document can be characterized as a “no-first-use” agreement rather than a non-proliferation treaty. Canada, France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Great Britain all signed the document but continued to develop, test and stockpile biological and chemical weapons.

Sources: http://www.nti.org/e_research/official_docs/ inventory/pdfs/geneva.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Protocol

http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/treaties/geneva1.html

http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/0/626de49e3227d36dc125641e003a172a?OpenDocument

http://www.uic.edu/sph/cade/bioforum/anthrax/deansforum1slides/sld008.htm