Corocotta
Active member
PershingOfLSU said:As I already said, breathing or consuming it is dangerous just like breathing or consuming lead. That's why the United States has ceased to use lead bullets for the military. But outside of depleted uranium shells, there isn't much else capable of piercing modern tanks. Tungsten, although heavy is too brittle to pierce armor as well as depleted uranium. Depleted uranium can be dangerous, however it isn't illegal.
You are partialy correc. No international treaty currently bans the production or use of DU weapons. Indeed, DU weapons are not chemical or biological weapons, therefore they cannot be considered to be illegal under the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention and the 1996 Chemical Weapons Convention. They are not nuclear weapons either and thus cannot be banned under the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. However:
However, the use of DU weapons goes against established principles of humanitarian law, notably principles of the Geneva Conventions and some UN guidelines relative to:
-the protection of civilian populations (See Articles 48 and 51.4 above)
-the limitation of unnecessary human suffering (Art.35.2)
-the limitation of damage to the environment (Art. 35.3 and 55.1)
Law, International or internal is based on basic principles. And all laws should respect this principles. I think that in a short period of time we will have a treaty that bans this weapons, the sad part is that some countries will never ratify it.....