Bill Clinton: “Protocols on Mines, Incendiary Weapons, and Blinding Lasers With Documentation January 7, 1997 To the Senate of the…”

“Protocols on Mines, Incendiary Weapons, and Blinding Lasers With Documentation January 7, 1997 To the Senate of the United States: I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification, the following Protocols to the 1980 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 amended Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices (Protocol II or the amended Mines Protocol); the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons (Protocol III or the Incendiary Weapons Protocol); and the Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons (Protocol IV). Also transmitted for the information of the Senate is the report of the Department of State with respect to these Protocols, together with article-by-article analyses. The most important of these Protocols is the amended Mines Protocol. It is an essential step forward in dealing with the problem of anti- personnel landmines (APL) and in minimizing the very severe casualties to civilians that have resulted from their use. It is an important precursor to the total prohibition of these weapons that the United States seeks.…”