# List of weapons of mass destruction treaties

A variety of treaties and agreements have been enacted to regulate the use, development and possession of various types of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Treaties may regulate weapons use under the customs of war (Hague Conventions, Geneva Protocol), ban specific types of weapons (Chemical Weapons Convention, Biological Weapons Convention), limit weapons research (Partial Test Ban Treaty, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty), limit allowable weapons stockpiles and delivery systems (START I, SORT) or regulate civilian use of weapon precursors (Chemical Weapons Convention, Biological Weapons Convention). The history of weapons control has also included treaties to limit effective defense against weapons of mass destruction in order to preserve the deterrent doctrine of mutual assured destruction (Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty) as well as treaties to limit the spread of nuclear technologies geographically (African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty).
There is a separate list of states parties to several of the major weapons of mass destruction treaties.

## General

* Year of entry into force in parentheses
* Protocol I (1977) and Protocol II (1977) of the Geneva Conventions (1949)
* Environmental Modification Convention (1978) (list of states parties)

## Delivery systems

* International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (2002, not a treaty)

## Biological weapons

| Agreement | Date signed | Date of entry into force | Number of states parties | Objective |
| Geneva Protocol | 17 June 1925 | 8 February 1928 | 146 | Ban the use of chemical and biological weapons |
| Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) | 10 April 1972 | 26 March 1975 | 187 (list) | Comprehensively ban biological weapons |
| United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 | NA | 28 April 2004 | NA | Prevent WMD proliferation, especially to non-state actors |

## Chemical weapons

| Agreement | Date signed | Date of entry into force | States parties | Objective |
| Strasbourg Agreement | | 27 August 1675 | France and the Holy Roman Empire | Ban the use of poison bullets |
| Treaty of Versailles | | 10 January 1920 | Germany and the Allied Powers of WWI | Ban Germany from manufacturing or stockpiling chemical weapons (among many things) |
| Geneva Protocol | 17 June 1925 | 8 February 1928 | 146 | Ban the use of chemical and biological weapons against enemy nationals in international armed conflict |
| Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) | 3 September 1992 | 29 April 1997 | 193 (list) | Comprehensively ban chemical weapons |

## Nuclear weapons
### Disarmament and non-proliferation

| Agreement | Date signed | Date of entry into force | Number of states parties | Objective |
| Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency | | 29 July 1957 | 178 (list) | |
| Outer Space Treaty | 27 January 1967 | 10 October 1967 | 115 (list) | Ban stationing of WMD in space |
| Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) | 1 July 1968 | 5 March 1970 | 191 (list) | 1. prevent nuclear proliferation; 2. promote nuclear disarmament; 3. promote peaceful uses of nuclear energy |
| Seabed Arms Control Treaty | 11 February 1971 | 18 May 1972 | 94 | Ban stationing of WMD on the ocean floor |
| Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material | 3 March 1980 | 8 February 1987 | 164 | Ensure the physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities |
| Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) (2021) | 20 September 2017 | 22 January 2021 | 70 (list) | Comprehensively ban nuclear weapons |

## Regional restrictions

| Agreement | Date signed | Date of entry into force | Number of states parties |
| Antarctic Treaty | December 1, 1959 | June 23, 1961 | 55 |
| Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean | 14 February 1967 | 22 April 1968 | 33 |
| South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone | NA | 27 October 1986 | 24 |
| South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty | 6 August 1985 | 11 December 1986 | 13 |
| Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany | 12 September 1990 | 15 March 1991 | 6 |
| Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty | 15 December 1995 | 28 March 1997 | 10 |
| India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement | | | US and India |
| African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty | 1996 | 15 July 2009 | 43 |
| Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone | 8 September 2006 | 21 March 2009 | 5 |

### Weapons limitation

| Agreement | Date signed | Date of entry into force | Number of states parties | Objective |
| McCloy–Zorin Accords | | 20 December 1961 | | Establish a foundation for all future international (nuclear) disarmament negotiations |
| Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty | 5 August 1963 | 10 October 1963 | 126 (list) | Ban all nuclear weapons tests except for those conducted underground |
| Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty | 26 May 1972 | 1972 (US withdrawal: 2002) | US and USSR | Limit anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems used in defending areas against ballistic missile-delivered nuclear weapons |
| Threshold Test Ban Treaty | 3 July 1974 | 11 December 1990 | US and USSR | Ban nuclear tests of devices having a yield exceeding 150 kilotons |
| Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) | 10 September 1996 | Not in force | 176 (list) | Ban all nuclear weapons tests |
| Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty | NA | NA | NA | Prohibit the further production of fissile material |
| Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty | 8 December 1987 | 1 June 1988 (expiration: 2 August 2019) | US and USSR | Ban land-based ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and missile launchers with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km |
| SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) | 26 May 1972 | | US and USSR | Limit the number of strategic ballistic missile launchers |
| SALT II | June 18 1979 | Never entered into force | US and USSR | Limit the number of strategic ballistic missile launchers |
| START I (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) | 31 July 1991 | 5 December 1994 | US and USSR | Limit the number of deployed nuclear warheads to 6,000 and of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to 1,600 |
| START II | 3 January 1993 | 14 April 2000 (USSR withdrawal: 14 June 2002) | US and Russia | Ban the use of multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) on ICBMs |
| START III | not completed | NA | US and Russia | Limit the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads |
| Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) | 24 May 2002 | 1 June 2003 (expiration: 5 February 2011) | US and Russia | Limit the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 |
| New START | 8 April 2010 | 5 February 2011 | US and Russia | Limit the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550, deployed missiles and bombers to 700, and deployed and non-deployed launchers (missile tubes and bombers) to 800 |

### Cooperation

| Agreement | Date signed | Date of entry into force | States parties | Objective |
| Quebec Agreement | 19 August 1943 | 19 August 1943 (expiration: 7 January 1948) | UK and US | Cooperation on nuclear energy and nuclear weapons |
| 1958 US–UK Mutual Defence Agreement | 3 July 1958 | 4 August 1958 | UK and US | Exchange of nuclear materials, technology and information |
| Nassau Agreement | 1962 | | UK and US | Supply of UK with Polaris missiles, launch tubes, and the fire control system (see UK Polaris programme) |
| Polaris Sales Agreement | 6 April 1963 | | UK and US | Implementation of the Nassau Agreement |
| Nuclear Terrorism Convention | 14 September 2005 | 7 July 2007 | 120 | Criminalize acts of nuclear terrorism and promote police and judicial cooperation |