• Generally white phosphorus is an industrial chemical not subject to restriction but in weaponry its banned or restricted by general international laws pertaining to incendiary devices.
• Article 1 of Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons defines an incendiary weapon as "any weapon or munition which is primarily designed to set fire to objects or to cause burn injury to persons through the action of flame, heat, or combination thereof, produced by a chemical reaction of a substance delivered on the target".
• Furthermore, Article 2 prohibits the deliberate use of incendiary weapons against civilian targets (already forbidden by the Geneva Conventions), the use of air-delivered incendiary weapons against military targets in civilian areas, and the general use of other types of incendiary weapons against military targets located within "concentrations of civilians" without taking all possible means to minimise casualties.
• The Chemical Weapons Convention, sometimes invoked in discussions of WP usage, is meant to prohibit weapons that are "dependent on the use of the toxic properties of chemicals as a method of warfare" (Article II, Definitions, 9, "Purposes not Prohibited" c.).
• The convention defines a "toxic chemical" as a substance "which through its chemical action on life processes can cause death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals" (CWC, II). An annex lists chemicals that are restricted under the convention, and WP is not listed in the Schedules of chemical weapons or precursors.
• According to the International Committee of the Red Cross lighted phosphorus flames at levels above 800 degree Celsius flames can spread over large areas, up to several hundred square kilometres. Which can cause life-threatening injuries and a delayed painful death.
• Additional Protocols to the 1977 Geneva Convention restrict the deployment of white phosphorous bombs if they endanger civilians.

• Phosphorus has two forms, red and white. Red phosphorus is harmless but the white form is highly toxic and reacts violently with oxygen, so it must be stored under water or paraffin to stop it spontaneously combusting.
• White phosphorus was discovered 300 years ago when the Hamburg-based alchemist Henig Brandt boiled urine and continued to burn the residue that formed. The white phosphorus he duly produced quickly became the poison of choice for murderers of the time, and detectives exploited the fact that it glows in the dark to identify cases in which it had been used.
• White phosphorus was first properly utilized by Fenian (Irish nationalist) arsonists in the 19th century, in the form of a solution in carbon disulfide. When the carbon disulfide evaporated, the phosphorus would burst into flames. This mixture was known as "Fenian fire".
• The British Army presented the first factory-built white phosphorus grenades in late 1916 during the First World War. During the war, white phosphorus mortar bombs, shells, rockets, and grenades were used extensively by American, Commonwealth, and Japanese forces.
• The Royal Air Force based in Iraq also used white phosphorus bombs in Anbar Province during the Iraqi revolt of 1920. n the interwar years, the US Army trained using white phosphorus, by artillery shell and air bombardment.

• The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), officially the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, is an arms control treaty administered by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), an intergovernmental organization based in The Hague, The Netherlands.
• It came into force on 29 April 1997, and prohibits the large-scale use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of chemical weapons.
• The main obligation of member states under the convention is to effect this prohibition, as well as the destruction of all current chemical weapons.
• All destruction activities must take place under OPCW verification.
• The CWC augments the Geneva Protocol of 1925, which banned the use but not the development or possession of chemical and biological weapons. The CWC also includes extensive verification measures such as on-site inspections.

• The Act defines chemical weapons and empowers the Centre to set up a National Authority.
• The Act defines chemical weapons as toxic chemicals, including munitions and devices, specifically designed to cause death or other harm.
• The definition includes in its ambit “any equipment” specifically designed for employing chemical weapons.
• Power of Inspection (Section 19): This section of the act gives full power of inspection of any person who is engaged in the production, processing, acquisition, consumption, transfer, import, export or use of any toxic chemical or discrete organic chemical.
• Enforcement Officers (Section 9): It gives the Centre power to appoint any of its own officers, other than those of the National Authority, as enforcement officers.
• Restriction on Transfer of Any Toxic Chemical (Section 16): the Act contains provisions for restriction on transfer of any toxic chemical or precursor.

Who are the member parties of CWC (Chemical Weapons Convention)?

• Before the CWC came into force in 1997, 165 states signed the convention, allowing them to ratify the agreement after obtaining domestic approval.
• Following the treaty's entry into force, it was closed for signature and the only method for non-signatory states to become a party was through accession
• There are 193 states that have become parties to the CWC as of March 2021. Israel has signed but not ratified the agreement, while three other UN member states (Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan) have neither signed nor acceded to the treaty.
• Recently, the State of Palestine deposited its instrument of accession to the CWC on 17 May 2018. In September 2013, Syria acceded to the convention as part of an agreement for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons.
• As of February 2021, 98.39% of the world's declared chemical weapons stockpiles had been destroyed.
• The convention has provisions for systematic evaluation of chemical production facilities, as well as for investigations of allegations of use and production of chemical weapons based on the intelligence of other state parties.
• Some chemicals which have been used extensively in warfare but have numerous large-scale industrial uses (such as phosgene) are highly regulated; however, certain notable exceptions exist.
• Chlorine gas is highly toxic, but being a pure element and widely used for peaceful purposes, is not officially listed as a chemical weapon.
• Although these chemicals are not specifically listed as controlled by the CWC, the use of any toxic chemical as a weapon (when used to produce fatalities solely or mainly through its toxic action) is in-and-of itself forbidden by the treaty.
• Other chemicals, such as white phosphorus, are highly toxic but are legal under the CWC when they are used by military forces for reasons other than their toxicity.

• White phosphorus weapons can cause damage by burns and vapour inhalation additionally with direct injuries caused by fragments of their casings.
• White phosphorus burns at a temperature of up to 2,760 degrees Celsius (5,000 degrees Fahrenheit) Incandescent particles from weapons using powdered white phosphorus as their payload produce extensive partial- and full-thickness burns.
• Phosphorus burns carry an elevated risk of mortality due to the absorption of phosphorus into the body through the burned area with prolonged contact, which can result in liver, heart and kidney damage, and sometimes multiple organ failure.
• White phosphorus particles continue to burn until completely consumed or deprived of oxygen.
• In some cases, injury is limited to areas of exposed skin because the smaller WP particles do not burn completely through personal clothing before being consumed.
• Due to the pyrophoric nature of WP, penetrating injuries are quickly treated by smothering the wound using water, damp cloth or mud, isolating it from oxygen until fragments can be removed.
• Bicarbonate solution is applied to the wound to neutralise any build-up of phosphoric acid, followed by removal of any remaining visible fragments: these are easily observed as they are luminescent in dark surroundings.
• Surgical debridement around the wound is used to avoid fragments too small to detect causing later systemic failure, with further treatment proceeding as with a thermal burn.
• Ignited white phosphorus produces a hot, dense, white smoke consisting mostly of phosphorus pentoxide in aerosol form.
• At high concentrations the smoke can cause temporary irritation to the eyes, mucous membranes of the nose, and respiratory tract.
• The smoke is more dangerous in enclosed spaces, where it can cause asphyxiation and permanent respiratory damage.
• The US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has set an acute inhalation Minimum Risk Level (MRL) for white phosphorus smoke of 0.02 mg/m3, the same as fuel-oil fumes.