Riot control agents lethality

The Conference did not result in a radical change of direction for the OPCW or substantive decisions on crucial, still outstanding issues (e g. so called non-lethal agents, riot control agents, law enforcement , nil declarations in respect of OCPFs and like. The problems of scientific and technological development were tackled only very generally. 

Jones,In a critique of the Hlmsworth report, recommended abandonment of CS as a riot-control agent, because lethal amounts could be Inhaled under Mthe most exceptional circumstances."... 

Capsaicin is also the active ingredient in the chemical riot control agent, pepper spray. When the spray comes in contact with skin, especially eyes or mucous membranes, it is very painful. In large quantities, capsaicin can be a lethal poison. Symptoms of overdose include difficulty in breathing, blue skin and convulsions and uncontrollable, painful nipple erections. Even though the... 

See also CS Gas Non-Lethal Weapons, Chemical Riot Control Agents. 

The SAB was also aware of concerns about the development of new riot control agents (RCAs), and other so-called non-lethal ... 

Convulsives and calmatives may rely on their toxic properties to have a physiological effect on humans. If that is the case, and these two NLWs (Non-Lethal Weapons) are not considered RCAs (Riot Control Agents), in order to avoid being classified as a prohibited chemical weapon, they would have to be used for the article I(9)(d) purpose not prohibited" the law enforcement purpose. As discussed... the limits of this purpose not prohibited are not clear and will be determined by the practice of states (emphasis added). 

Other observers and authors also recommended revising the no-first-use policy. Public opinion and national policy opposing the use of toxic chemicals apparently was the deciding factor against their employment. The army did, however, utilize defoliants and nonlethal riot control agents in large quantities. This caused a worldwide response that required the army to quickly explain the differences between lethal and nonlethal chemicals. 

The United States does not recognize riot control agents as chemical warfare agents as defined in the Geneva Convention of 1925. The Geneva Gas Protocol of 1925 was ratified by the United States on 22 January 1975. At that time, the United States interpreted the protocol as prohibiting the first use of lethal chemicals, but not of nonlethal ones such as riot control agents or herbicides. 

M. Crowley, Dangerous Ambiguities Regulation of Riot Control Agents and Incapacitants under the Chemical Weapons Convention, Bradford Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project, University of Bradford, Oct 2009. 

The US used herbicides and riot control agents in Vietnam and Laos. To some extent these chemical operations could be seen as -and were argued to be - outside the mainstream of chemical warfare, in so far as the Americans did not employ classical lethal chemical agents. Both at the time and subsequently, the United States and its supporters have been keen to avoid categorising the operations in Vietnam as chemical warfare, claiming at the time that the definition of chemical warfare under international law required that damage be done to the physical person of the enemy and that the use of riot... 

The judgement is that the best we can do in tying that down is that the agents used in Kampuchea were some kind of low level riot control agents. .. There is a better than even chance that lethal chemicals were used in the area to the Northeast of Vientiane and Vang Pao s [a Hmong leader] old territory. 

Article II covers definitions and criteria . The term chemical weapons is to apply to toxic, lethal, super-toxic and harmful chemicals including key precursors, except where they are intended for purposes not prohibited by the Convention as long as the types and quantities involved are consistent with such purposes . It also embraces munitions and devices specifically designed to cause death or other harm by releasing toxic chemicals. Further work remains to be done on this article to cover the position of riot control agents, chemicals which, although not toxic in themselves, could be used to increase the effect of chemical munitions, and the definitions relating to binary munitions. 

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