Explosive weapons declaration signed at Dublin Castle

Explosive weapons declaration signed at Dublin Castle

Seventy-seven countries have signed up to a political declaration on “strengthening the protection of civilians from the humanitarian consequences arising from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas”, which has been formally adopted at a conference in Dublin Castle.

Delegates heard that this year alone explosive weapons killed 14,819 civilians and the day began with the unveiling of a monument to the “Unknown Civilian” in the castle gardens.

Attending the Conference, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Coveney said it was “a very important day”, and one for which Ireland had been preparing for more than two years.

“There is a determination being led by Ireland to ensure that as many member states as possible of the UN are putting pressure on countries around the world that are involved in armed conflicts to understand that they have legal obligations to protect civilians in urban centres,” Mr Coveney said.

Twenty-three of 30 NATO members have signed up to the Declaration, and so too have three of the UN Security Council five Permanent Members, the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

Government ministers from 12 countries, including Austria, Somalia, Sudan and Finland attended today’s conference, as did the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu.

Ms Nakamitsu delivered a message to the conference on behalf of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres which described the adoption of the Declaration as a “tremendous achievement” and “a milestone in collective efforts to better protect civilians” but said it now fell “on Member States to bring this declaration to life through broad and meaningful implementation.”

Addressing the conference, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric Egger said that the Declaration “sent a powerful signal that belligerents cannot continue fighting in populated areas the way they have until now.”

“Today we mark this achievement but tomorrow we must work even harder to put these important commitments into action. We owe this to the innumerable victims of urban warfare and to our common humanity,” Ms Spoljaric Egger said.

Co-ordinator of the International Network on Explosive Weapons, Laura Boillot said this was the first international agreement that specifically places limits on the use of explosive weapons in towns and cities.

“So what we found is that when towns and cities are bombed, it is civilians that suffer the most, 90% of the victims of bombing and shelling are civilians. So it’s really a very widespread problem,” Ms Boillot said.

“Ms Boillot said that while images of urban warfare in Ukraine may have thrown in issue “into sharp focus”, this was “a problem that impacts many different countries.”

“We’ve seen it in Ethiopia at the moment, in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan. So having (almost) 80 countries come here and sign on to this agreement and send a clear message that this heavy civilian toll is unacceptable, its really really important,” Ms Boillot said.

She said that the implementation of this Declaration was the next stage in what she described as a “norm-changing exercise”, and acknowledged that it would be “a long process of work.”

“States will be meeting on a regular basis to review the progress that is being made” while civil society organisations such as hers will monitor the situation on the ground and will be “calling out instances of civilian harm.”