The Global Protection Forum, 22 April 2024
© Ludvig Gundersen
On 22 April 2024, INEW co-convened the Protection Forum with the Norwegian Red Cross in Oslo, Norway, prior to the first international follow-up conference to the adoption of the Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons.
A range of exhibitions were on display including items from Action For Sama, a bombed out ambulance from the Norwegian Red Cross, If War Comes to You from the Danish Red Cross, Broken Cities from the ICRC and a live mural painting from artists, including Valerii Kolo from Ukraine, all of which provided participants with an opportunity to interact with subject matter in a unique way.
The day predominantly brought attention to the needs of people and affected communities, in a conversational, interactive and integral tone. Voices of people with lived experiences were brought to the fore providing authentic and honest storytelling of the impact of explosive weapons on civilian life in order to encourage participants to redouble efforts to strengthen the protection of civilians through the framework of the implementation of the Political Declaration.
The Protection Forum was opened by Anne Bergh, Secretary General of the Norwegian Red Cross, Raymond Johansen, Secretary General of Norwegian People’s Aid and Laura Boillot, Coordinator of the International Network on Explosive Weapons. In her opening remarks, Laura Boillot noted the importance of a collaborative spirit in the work being carried out which can “fulfill the potential and purpose of the Declaration, to build global support and to set stronger standards against the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.”
The day was structured around two sessions on “Civilian Harm and Current Contexts” and “Responding to the Needs of People and Communities” which featured a range of different perspectives, see the full programme and list of speakers here. The programme came to a close with the presentation of the INEW Appeal; an appeal to states from voices of the affected community, read aloud and symbolically handed over to representatives from Ireland, Norway and Costa Rica, by Marwa Almbaed and Waad al-Kateab.
The Protection Forum provided a space that was critical to the mobilisation of states in implementing the Political Declaration moving forward, particularly amidst the contemporary context of high levels of civilian harm from explosive weapons in current conflicts.
The first international follow-up conference to the adoption of the Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons, 23 April 2024
© Ludvig Gundersen
On 23 April 2024, over 90 states and 50 organisations attended the first international follow-up conference to the adoption of the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, hosted by the government of Norway in Oslo.
States came from all regions of the world and include producers of explosive weapons, past users of explosive weapons in populated areas, and countries that are affected by armed conflict. Endorsement and implementation of the Political Declaration from states marks their recognition of the harm done to civilians by explosive weapons and expressed their solidarity with the victims of affected communities. The conference was a formal opportunity for endorsing states to come together and share their progress in implementing the commitments in the Declaration.
Tine Mørch Smith, the Director General of the Department for Multilateral Affair of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, opened the meeting followed by statements from Andreas Kravik, State Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Ambassador Noel White, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations in Geneva, Mélanie Régimbal, Chief of Service of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs in Geneva, Marwa Almbaed, student of Occupational Therapy, survivor and self-advocate from Syria, Dr. Younis Al-Khatib, President of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Svitlana Avramenko, Head of War-related Threat Awareness Department at Ukrainian Red Cross Society and Radhya al-Mutawakel, representative for INEW whose statement can be found here.
The conference was comprised of three sessions on “Military Policies and Practices”, “Understanding Direct and Indirect Effects” and “Assisting Conflict-Affected Communities” which explored the commitments and mechanisms of the Declaration and its implementation. Read INEW’s statements here: Session 1, Session 2 and Session 3.
The closing session set the tone for future work on the way forward towards universalisation of the Political Declaration. Statements were made from Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Minister of International Development at Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alejandro Solano Ortiz, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs from Costa Rica, Caoimhe Udom, Deputy Director of Disarmament & Non-Proliferation at Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Juliana Helou van der Berg Political Affairs Officer at UNODA and a video statement from Youth Campaigners.
66 endorsers attended:
Argentia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Holy See, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Laos, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Palestine, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Togo, Turkiye, UK, US and Uruguay.
15 non-endorsers attended:
Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, China, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Kazakhstan, Mali, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia and Tanzania.
21 endorsers did not attend:
Andorra, Albania, Cabo Verde, CAR, Cyprus, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Iceland, Kenya, Kiribati, Liberia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Palau, Philippines, Moldova, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Somalia.