Ukraine: white phosphorus, a blind spot in the law of war

An administrative office destroyed by a phosphorus bomb in Palestine (illustration image).

© Photo: C. Monnet/RFI

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

US President Joe Biden warned on Wednesday March 23 that a Russian chemical weapons attack in Ukraine was "

".

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of using "

", a controversial weapon, but not prohibited by international humanitarian law. 

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Not everything is permitted when you go to war.

International humanitarian law, also known as the law of war or the law of armed conflict, restricts the use of certain weapons and certain methods of warfare.

The general principle is that it is forbidden to use weapons which strike indiscriminately and whose effects cannot be limited.

The Geneva Convention also prohibits “

»

Example with anti-personnel mines, cluster bombs, nuclear weapons, killer robots and chemical weapons.

The use of chemicals such as chlorine or sarin gas is prohibited by a convention that came into force in 1997.

►Also read: Nagorno-Karabakh war: phosphorus bombs, wound for the environment and health

But the devil is in the details and this is the case with white phosphorus.

Commonly used as a smoke bomb, phosphorus shells set off a smoke screen to conceal the movement of ground troops.

It is also a very powerful incendiary device.

It becomes a chemical weapon when used directly for its offensive capabilities and the 1983 UN Conventional Weapons Convention condemns its use.

On the other hand, devices using white phosphorus for its smoke-producing or illuminating properties can be used.

It's all about dialectics.

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