international law does not prohibit the use of napalm or other incendiaries against military targets, but use against civilian populations was banned by the united nations' inhumane weapons convention (often referred to as the ccw) in 1981. protocol iii of the ccw restricts the use of incendiary weapons (not only napalm), but a number of states have not acceded to all of the protocols of the ccw. according to the stockholm international peace research institute (sipri), states are considered a party to the convention, which entered into force as international law in december 1983, if they ratify at least two of the five protocols. the united states, for example, is a party to the ccw but did not sign protocol iii.