CCW Bill Portfolio Committee on Defence

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CCW BillPortfolio Committee on Defence

• 22 May 2007

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RESTRICTIONS OR PROHIBITIONS OF CERTAIN
CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS BILL KEY POLICY
PRONOUNCEMENTS
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BACKGROUND

• In 1995 South Africa became a State Party to the
  Convention on the Prohibitions or Restrictions on
  the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May
  Be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have
  Indiscriminate Effects .
• This Convention is also known as the CCW.
• CCW is part of the IHL, which is a set of rules
  that seek to limit the effects of armed conflict
  on both combatants and non-combatants.
• Article 14 of Protocol II of the Convention
  requires all State States to enact enabling
  legislation (Domestic legislation) to give full
  effect to the Convention.

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• Section 231(4) of the Constitution provides that
  any international agreement becomes law within
  this country when enacted into law by national
  legislation, but a self-executing provision of an
  agreement that has been approved by Parliament is
  law in the Republic unless it is inconsistent
  with the Constitution or an Act of Parliament.
• The Bill is drafted in response to the Republic's
  obligation under the Certain Conventional
  Weapons Convention (CCW) as well as under the
  South African Constitution.
• By promulgating the Bill, the Republic would have
  fulfilled its obligation.

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KEY POLICY TENETS CAPTURED IN THE BILL

• Intention.
• To provide for restrictions or prohibitions on
  the use of certain categories of weapons
  identified in the Convention and thus implement
  South Africas obligations under the Convention.
• Definition of Terms.
• Consistency is created between the Bill and the
  Convention by using the same definitions, and
  thereafter adding those definitions that are
  necessary to eliminate misinterpretation.
• Restrictions or Prohibitions.
• The Convention requires that national legislation
  cover both the restrictions or prohibitions
  provided for in the four Protocols of the
  Convention. These are
• .

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KEY POLICY TENETS CAPTURED IN THE BILL

• Protocol I.
• Prohibitions on the Use of Non-Detectable
  Fragments.
• Protocol II.
• Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps
  and other Devices.
• Protocol III.
• Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons.
• Protocol IV.
• Prohibition of Use Blind Laser Weapons.

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CHAPTER 1 OBJECTS APPLICATION OF THE ACT

• Object of Bill
• The Bill enacts the Convention into RSA law.
• Provide for compliance with the Convention.
• Extraterritorial Application Jurisdiction
• The Bill seeks to address transgressions by South
  African persons acting out of the borders of the
  Republic. South African Courts are competent to
  prosecute South African persons who contravene
  the Bill outside the territorial borders, and the
  contravention will be seen as if it had occurred
  within the borders of the Republic.
• Clear definition of South African person
  provided.

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CHAPTER 2 PROHIBITIONS OR RESTRICTIONS

• Non-detectable Fragments (Protocol I)
• Prohibits the use weapons that are non-detectable
  in human body through x-ray.
• Mines, booby-traps and other devices ( Protocol
  II)
• Restricts the use of mines, booby-traps that
  cause excessive injury.
• Restricts the use of these weapons on military
  targets.
• Anti-personnel Mines
• The Bill takes the higher standard as provided
  for in the Anti-Personnel Mines Prohibition Act.

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CHAPTER 2 PROHIBITIONS OR RESTRICTIONS

• Incendiary Weapons (Protocol III)
• Restricts the use of these weapons.
• These weapons may not be used against civilian
  populations, against military objectives located
  within a high concentration of civilians.
• Blinding Laser Weapons (Protocol IV)
• The Bill prohibits the use of these weapons.
• Penal Sanctions
• Penal sanctions are required to prevent
  violations of the Convention. The Bill identifies
  penal sanctions for both natural and juristic
  transgressors. Any contravention of Bill will be
  punishable by either a fine or imprisonment, or
  both.9

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• Surrender of Prohibited Weapons and Forfeiture to
  State
• Prohibited items are to be surrendered within six
  months of the Act coming into force.
• In the case of the SANDF a particular process is
  to be followed.

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CHAPTER 3 REPORTING ON COMPLIANCE WITH
CONVENTION

• Reporting on Compliance
• The Convention requires every State Party to
  report annually to the Secretary of the United
  Nations on its compliance with the obligations of
  the Convention. The Bill thus places the
  obligation on the Minister of Defence to report
  on South Africa's compliance, via the Minister of
  Foreign Affairs.
• Power to gather information
• In order for South Africa to be able to provide
  this kind and level of information to the United
  Nations, it is important that such information be
  readily available to the Minister. This
  information may be possessed by different sources
  and the Minister must have the right of access to
  all information relating to the identified
  conventional weapons, and in the event of
  refusal, those who refuse will be subjected to
  prosecution.

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CHAPTER 4 GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Guidelines for training
• The Minister must ensure that military
  instructions and operating procedures relevant to
  the Convention are issued and members of the
  SANDF receive training equivalent with their
  duties to comply with this Act.
• Regulations
• The Bill provides that the Minister may make
  regulations relevant to the implementation of
  this Act.
• Delegation of Powers
• The Minister may delegate any powers and duties
  imposed on him by this Act to any employee of the
  DOD holding a position or rank of at least Dir,
  Brig Gen or R Adm (JG).

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