The Conference of Government Experts on Weapons which may cause Unnecessary Suffering or have Indiscriminate Effects opened on Tuesday, 24 September, at Lucerne, under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Conference, attended by more than 150 experts from some 50 countries, will continue until 18 October.

The study of the use of the weapons in question had already been the subject of a preliminary meeting in Geneva, in the context of work directed towards the further development of international humanitarian law.