WAR HAS RULES: A GUIDE TO PROHIBITED WEAPONS UNDER INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW ⚖️
Many people assume that once war begins, anything goes. It does not. International humanitarian law (IHL), also called the law of armed conflict, limits how wars may be fought.
The Principal Principles
The right of parties to choose their means and methods of warfare is not unlimited (Hague Regulations 1907, art 22; Additional Protocol I 1977 (AP I), art 35(1)). Three rules do most of the work:
▪️ No unnecessary suffering. Weapons that cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering are prohibited (AP I, art 35(2)).
▪️ No indiscriminate weapons. A weapon that cannot be directed at a military objective, or whose effects cannot be limited, may not be used (AP I, art 51(4)).
▪️ The Martens clause. Where no specific rule exists, civilians and combatants remain protected by the principles of humanity and the dictates of public conscience (AP I, art 1(2)).
The ICJ called these cardinal principles of humanitarian law, binding even on states that have not ratified the relevant treaties (Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion [1996] ICJ Rep 226, paras 78–79). The ICRC's study of customary IHL confirms the prohibitions on unnecessary suffering and indiscriminate weapons as customary rules (Henckaerts & Doswald-Beck, Customary IHL, Vol I (CUP 2005), rr 70–71).
Below are the Prohibited Weapons of Warfare
1. Chemical weapons
The 1925 Geneva Protocol banned the use of poisonous gases in war. The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) 1993 went further, banning the development, production, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons, and requiring destruction of stockpiles under the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (CWC, arts I and VIII).
▪️ Riot control agents: Tear gas may be used for law enforcement, but never as a method of warfare (CWC, art I(5)).
▪️ Internal conflicts:The ICTY held that the chemical weapons ban applies in non-international armed conflicts too (Prosecutor v Tadić, IT-94-1-AR72, 2 October 1995, paras 119–124).
▪️ Criminal liability: Using poison or poisonous gases is a war crime under the Rome Statute (art 8(2)(b)(xvii)–(xviii) and 8(2)(e)(xiii)–(xiv)).
2. Biological weapons
The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) 1972 bans developing, producing, stockpiling and acquiring biological agents and toxins that have no peaceful, protective or prophylactic justification (art I). Their use in war is barred by the 1925 Geneva Protocol and by custom (Henckaerts & Doswald-Beck, r 73). Unlike the CWC, the BWC has no standing verification body, so compliance depends on national implementation (art IV).
3. Anti-personnel landmines
A landmine cannot tell a soldier from a child, and it stays lethal long after the fighting ends. The Ottawa Convention 1997 bans their use, production, stockpiling and transfer. It requires stockpile destruction within four years and clearance of mined areas within ten (arts 1, 4 and 5). States outside it are still bound by Amended Protocol II to the CCW and by customary rules on minimising indiscriminate effects, recording minefields and clearing them after the war (Henckaerts & Doswald-Beck, rr 81–83).
A treaty under pressure: The Ottawa Convention reached 166 States Parties by June 2025. But Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Poland have initiated or completed withdrawal, and Ukraine has suspended its participation, citing the security threat from Russia. China, Russia and the US have never joined. Under art 20, withdrawal takes effect six months after notice, but not until the end of any armed conflict the withdrawing state is engaged in at that point.
4. Cluster munitions
Cluster munitions scatter many small submunitions over a wide area, and the ones that fail to explode behave like landmines. The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) 2008 bans their use, production, stockpiling and transfer, and requires stockpile destruction within eight years, clearance within ten, and victim assistance (arts 1, 3, 4 and 5). According to the 2026 Cluster Munition Monitor, it has 112 States Parties and 12 signatories. Lithuania's withdrawal took effect on 6 March 2025, the first time any state has left it.
What about states outside these treaties?
A treaty ban binds only its parties. But every state remains bound by customary IHL, including distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack (AP I, arts 51 and 57). Using cluster munitions in a populated area, for example, can be unlawful even where the weapon is not banned by treaty.
Enforcement and Nigeria 🇳🇬
States must also review new weapons for lawfulness before fielding them (AP I, art 36). Violations can give rise to state responsibility and individual criminal liability. In Nigeria, a dualist state, treaties take domestic effect only once enacted by the National Assembly (Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, s 12(1)), and the Geneva Conventions are given effect through the Geneva Conventions Act, Cap G3, LFN 2004.
Conclusively, even in a state of warfare certain means and methods are prohibited. The chemical and biological weapons bans are among the most widely accepted rules in IHL. The landmine and cluster munition bans are younger and now face political strain. IHL protects people only when states ratify it, implement it and answer for breaches.
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