Joint Standing Committee on Treaties
CHAPTER 1
CONDUCT OF THE INQUIRY
1.1 The texts and accompanying National Interest Analyses
(NIAs) for Protocol IV and the amended Protocol II to the document known
as the Inhumane Weapons Convention, dealing with blinding laser weapons
and landmines respectively, were tabled in both Houses of Parliament on
15 October 1996.
1.2 While the formal title of this document is '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 less formal title 'Inhumane Weapons Convention' (IWC) will
be used for convenience in this report. This Convention was done on 10
October 1980 and came into force generally on 2 December 1983. Australia
ratified it on 29 September 1983 and it came into effect for this country
on 29 March 1984.
1.3 The IWC is an umbrella treaty under which specific
agreements can be concluded in the form of Protocols. To become a Party
to it, a State must ratify the Convention itself and two or more of the
Protocols. There are two other Protocols to which Australia is also a
Party: I, which prohibits the use of any weapon whose primary effect is
to injure by using non-detectable fragments; and III, on the use of incendiary
weapons against civilian populations. [1]
1.4 On 15 October 1996, the Committee agreed that
an inquiry should be undertaken into Protocol IV and the amended Protocol
II, with a view to making recommendations to the Parliament about ratification
of these documents and any other relevant matters. As such a report could
not have been tabled within the 15 sitting day period which is central
to the reformed treaty-making process, the Minister for Foreign Affairs
was advised that it would be tabled as early as practicable in 1997.
1.5 These two Protocols are the last of the treaties
tabled on 15 October 1996 to be considered. As was pointed out in our
4th Report, which considered all the treaties tabled at that time, the
national newspaper advertisement which sought submissions or comments
on these Protocols received a limited response. [2]
1.6 Public hearings, with the emphasis on the amended
Protocol II, were held in Canberra on 30 October, 2 and 3 December 1996.
On 6 December 1996, a further public hearing was held at the Army Engineer
Centre, Moorebank, NSW. This was preceded by a briefing on and demonstration
of landmines and their technologies. The demonstration included marking
of a minefield, observing a mine detection team in action, detonation
of a landmine and watching a dog detect explosives under the direction
of a handler. A final public hearing was held in Canberra on 3 February
1997.
1.7 Those people who gave evidence at the hearings
are listed in Appendix 1; the submissions received are at Appendix 2.
Reference material on both documents, from a range of sources, is listed
in Appendix 3, although additional material, such as the reports of other
Parliamentary committees and delegations has also been used. It represents
a fraction of what has been written on blinding laser weapons and landmines,
particularly on (the amended) Protocol II.
Footnotes
[1] Exhibit No 15, p 1
[2] Treaties Tabled on 15 & 29 October
1996, 4th Report, pp 2-3; The Weekend Australian, 19/20 October
1996, p 62.
Only one request was received for some of the
treaties tabled on 15 and 29 October 1996.