§ Ms QuinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of(a) the practical interpretation and (b) the implications of the laser weapons protocol, with particular reference to intentional and unintentional blinding. [25206]
§ Mr. SoamesWe welcome the adoption by the UN weaponry convention review conference in October 1995 of the protocol on blinding laser weapons. We believe that the protocol meets humanitarian concerns without adversely affecting normal military uses of lasers. Our interpretation is that it would prohibit the employment of laser weapons specifically designed, whether as their sole combat purpose or as one of their combat purposes, to cause permanent blindness to unenhanced vision.
As to the employment of other lasers, states parties are required to take feasible precautions to avoid the incidence of permanent blindness to unenhanced vision.
28WThe user's intention—or lack of it—to cause blindness is not, as such, material. We are currently studying the implications of this protocol and will take a decision on whether to ratify it following the final session of the review conference.