IPPNW Statement on the Use of White
Phosphorous by Israeli Forces in Gaza,
December 2008 / January 2009
IPPNW has released the following statement, signed by the
Federation's three Co-Presidents, in response to the escalating conflict in the
Middle East.
Released February 6, 2009
IPPNW notes with grave concern the use of white phosphorus by Israeli forces in
the recent war against Gaza.
As physicians committed to reducing the suffering brought by warfare, we
recognise the inhumane and indiscriminate effects of white phosphorus, and
strongly condemn its use in armed conflict under any circumstances.
White Phosphorus (WP) ignites spontaneously in air, the
resultant oxide combining rapidly with moisture to form droplets which produce
a very effective smoke screen. On contact with skin, WP causes painful and deep
chemical burns, often extending to bone that are very slow to heal. Such burns,
or the inhalation of WP droplets that can cause severe damage to the airways,
are often fatal.
WP's military utility stems from both its smoke-screening and its incendiary
properties. It has been used for both purposes many times since 1916, including
against Dresden, Hamburg
and Cherbourg in the Second World War; by Iraqi
forces, principally as ground-bursts, in the 1980s war against Iran, by US forces against Fallujah in Iraq in 2004; and now by Israeli forces in Gaza, often as air-bursts.
IPPNW calls for a ban on the use of white phosphorus in armed conflict. Its use
against positions holding many civilians (including children), must be
particularly condemned, its inhumane medical effects are such that its use in
weaponry can never be justified.
IPPNW notes that the use of WP is not regarded as illegal under the Chemical
Weapons Convention as it is deemed to be a conventional weapon for creating
smoke screens. However weapons which "may be deemed to be excessively
injurious or to have indiscriminate effects" are also banned by Protocol
III of the "Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons". Noting that
WP causes injuries that are both excessively injurious and indiscriminate, and
that these effects are entirely predictable when the weapon is used, IPPNW
calls for the explicit and complete banning of WP from armed conflict, and for
its use to be prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention and recognised as a
criminal offence under international law.
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), recipient
of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985, is a non-partisan, global federation of
national affiliates in more than 60 countries, including Israel and Palestine,
dedicated to research, education and advocacy, relevant to the prevention of
all wars. To this end, IPPNW seeks to promote non-violent conflict resolution
and to minimize the effects of war. IPPNW has long advocated a peaceful and
just resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has developed a Medical
Roadmap for peace in the Middle East.
Helsinki, Moscow,
and Stockholm
on February 6, 2009
Vappu Taipale, Sergey Kolesnikov, and Ime John
Co-presidents of IPPNW
