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

Statements

Monaco aligned with 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.”[1]

In October 2018, Monaco was one of 50 states to endorse the joint statement on the use of EWIPA at the UN General Assembly First Committee, calling attention to the devastating and long-lasting humanitarian impact of the use of EWIPA and urging states to reverse the trend of high levels of civilian harm.[2] Monaco also endorsed the Ireland-led joint statement during the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee in 2019.[3]  The statement 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.[4]

Political declaration

Monaco was present at the Geneva consultations for a political declaration on EWIPA in 2020[5] but did not issue any statement in that occasion. 

[1] Agenda for Humanity. ‘Monaco’. https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholders/commitments/338.html.

[2] Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations (2018). ‘UNGA73 First Committee Joint Statement on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA)’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com18/statements/25Oct_EWIPA.pdf.

[3] 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/.

[4] 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.

[5] INEW (2020). ‘More than 70 States Engage in Discussions on Political Declaration’. https://www.inew.org/more-than-70-states-engage-in-discussions-on-political-declaration/.