[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)] [May 12, 1994] [Pages 905-906] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]Message to the Senate Transmitting the Convention and Protocols on Conventional Weapons Restrictions May 12, 1994 To the Senate of the United States: I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification, 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 Convention), and two accompanying Protocols on Non-Detectable Fragments (Protocol I) and on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices (Protocol II). Also transmitted for the information of the Senate is the report of the Department of State with respect to the Convention and its Protocols. The Convention was concluded at Geneva on October 10, 1980, was signed by the United States on April 8, 1982, and entered into force on December 2, 1983. More than 30 countries have become Party to the Convention. It constitutes a modest but significant humanitarian effort to protect the victims of armed conflict from the effects of particular weapons. It will supplement prohibitions or restrictions on the use of weapons contained in existing treaties and customary international law, including the prohibition on the use in war of chemical and bacteriological weapons in the Geneva Protocol of June 17, 1925. It will provide a basis for effective controls on the widespread and indiscriminate use of landmines, which have caused widespread civilian casualties in recent conflicts. The Convention and its Protocols restrict, for humanitarian reasons, the use in armed conflicts of three specific types of conventional weapons. Protocol I prohibits the use of weapons that rely on fragments not detectable by X-rays. Protocol II regulates the use of landmines and similar devices for the purpose of reducing the danger to the civilian population caused by the indiscriminate use of such weapons, and prohibits certain types of booby-traps. Protocol III restricts the use of incendiary weapons in populated areas. The United States signed the Convention on April 8, 1982. Since then, it has been subject to detailed interagency reviews. Based on these reviews, I have concluded that the United States should become a Party to the Convention and to its Protocols I and II. As described in the report of the Secretary of State, there are concerns about the acceptability of Protocol III from a military point of view that require further examination. I therefore recommend that in the meantime the United States exercise its right under Article 4 of the Convention to accept only Protocols I and II. I believe that United States ratification of the Convention and its Protocols I and II will underscore our commitment to the principle that [[Page 906]] belligerents must refrain from weapons or methods of warfare that are inhumane or unnecessary from a military standpoint. I am also mindful of the strong sense of the Congress that the Convention should be submitted to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification, as evidenced in section 1365 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 (October 23, 1992, Public Law 102-484) and section 1423 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (November 30, 1993, Public Law 103-160). More specifically, by becoming Party, we will encourage the observance by other countries of restrictions on landmines and other weapons that U.S. Armed Forces and those of our allies already observe as a matter of humanity, common sense, and sound military doctrine. The United States will be able to take the lead in negotiating improvements to the Mines Protocol so as to deal more effectively with the immense threat to the civilian population caused by the indiscriminate use of those weapons. It will strengthen our efforts to encourage adoption of a moratorium on export of all anti-personnel landmines. I therefore recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to the Convention and its Protocols I and II and give its advice and consent to ratification subject to the conditions contained in the report of the Department of State. William J. Clinton The White House, May 12, 1994.