World War I saw the first large-scale use of chemical and biological weapons on European battlefields. However, even before this war there had already been efforts to ban the use of these devastating weapons. The First Peace Conference held in The Hague in 1899 included a declaration on the use of “projectiles the object of which is the diffusion of asphyxiating or deleterious gases”. The treaty came into force on September 4th 1900, but this did not prevent the use of mustard gas and similar agents during World War I.
The Geneva Protocol
As a result of the horrors of World War I, from 1918 onwards public opinion was strongly against chemical warfare. There was also widespread fear that chemical and biological warfare would lead to devastating consequences in any future war. The result was the signing of the Geneva Protocol in 1925.
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The Non Proliferation Treaty
To end World War II the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in August 1945, causing many thousands of casualties. To this date, the US is the only country to ever have used nuclear weapons.
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Conference on Disarmament
After World War II Geneva remained an important venue for disarmament negotiations. The Conference on Disarmament (CD) was established there in 1979. It was the only multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community.
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Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons (BTWC) entered into force in 1975.
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Chemical Weapons Convention
The Chemical Weapons Convention came into force in 1997, aiming to eliminate an entire category of WMDs by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by States Parties. These, in turn, must take the steps necessary to enforce prohibition in their jurisdiction. The Convention includes extensive verification measures such as on-site inspections.
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UN Security Council Resolution 1540
All treaties mentioned above are binding for States Parties. They do not apply to non-state actors. In 2004, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1540 under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.