Burkina Faso has acknowledged the harm caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) and committed to action against it.

Statements

Burkina Faso endorsed the Ireland-led joint statement during the 74th United Nations General Assembly First Committee in 2019.[1] The statement recognised the devastating humanitarian effects of the use EWIPA and encouraged states to participate in international efforts to address the impacts of the use of EWIPA on civilians, including by working towards the creation of an international political declaration on this issue.[2] Burkina Faso also drew attention to the threat which EWIPA pose to civilians during statements to the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2019 and 2020, pointing to Burkina Faso’s experiences with improvised explosive devices used by terrorist groups.[3]

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, of which Burkina Faso is a member state, aligned itself with the World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitments to “Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity” in May 2016, including the commitment “to promote and enhance the protection of civilians and civilian objects, especially in the conduct of hostilities, for instance by working to prevent civilian harm resulting from the use of wide-area explosive weapons in populated areas, and by sparing civilian infrastructure from military use in the conduct of military operations.”[4]

[1] INEW (2019). ‘Seventy-one states call for action on impact of explosive weapons in joint statement to UN General Assembly’. https://www.inew.org/seventy-one-states-call-for-action-on-impact-of-explosive-weapons-in-joint-statement-to-un-general-assembly/.

[2] Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations (2019). ‘UNGA74 First Committee Joint Statement on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA)’. https://article36.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/UNGA74-joint-statement-on-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas.pdf.

[3] Permanent Mission of Burkina Faso to the United Nations (2019). ‘UNGA74 Declaration du Burkina Faso’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com19/statements/25Oct_BurkinaFaso.pdf. ; Permanent Mission of Burkina Faso to the United Nations (2020). ‘UNGA75 Declaration du Burkina Faso’.  https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com20/statements/19Oct_BurkinaFaso.pdf.

[4] INEW, ‘Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’. https://www.inew.org/states/organisation-of-islamic-cooperation/.