Article

The latest nuclear war : does the use of depleted uranium armaments and armors constitute a war crime ?

Andrew Womack

• Vermont law review, Vol. 41, no. 2, 2016, p. 405-428

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Depleted uranium should never be used as a weapon. The devastation to the environment and the human population is evidenced by multiple reports of scientists and doctors in both the U.S. and abroad. However, the U.S. government continues to avoid the issue to maintain a thrifty way to dispose of its nuclear waste. Unfortunately, it is the men and women fighting in these wars and the innocent civilian populations who pay the ultimate price. The U.N. must move toward an absolute ban on depleted uranium weapons. The U.S. should admit its irresponsibility in using depleted uranium weapons and cooperate with the U.N. to see an international convention come to fruition. Multiple international documents, as well as domestic sources, establish a strong history of enforcing humanitarian principles and fundamental rights during war. Regardless of technology or tactics, fundamental principles of international law prohibit indiscriminate and unnecessary harm toward civilian populations and combatants.

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