The Encyclopedia is a project of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights launched on 2 December 2013. The Enyclopedia aims to provide accurate, up-to-date information on weapons, the effects of their use, and their regulation under public international law, in a format that is accessible to non-specialists.
+ Find out moreAccording to the 2001 Firearms Protocol, a firearm designates ‘any portable barrelled weapon that expels, is designed to expel or may be readily converted to expel a shot, bullet or projectile by the action of an explosive, excluding antique firearms or their replicas.’Art. 3(a), 2001 Firearms Protocol. The definition therefore excludes weapons using another form of propulsion, such as compressed gas. The portability requirement may also exclude light weapons.
Last updated on: 03 August 2017