Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas
Camilla Molyneux | International Network on Explosive Weapons
Originally published as part of the First Committee Monitor from Reaching Critical Will.
As the session on conventional weapons began at the First Committee, concerns about the use and impact of explosive weapons in populated areas, as well as calls for states to endorse the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences arising from the use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, were yet again voiced by states.
The use of explosive weapons in populated areas is a leading cause of harm to civilians in armed conflict. Each year, tens of thousands of civilians are killed and injured by explosive weapons. Over the past two weeks of First Committee meetings, Austria, Canada, Côte D’Ivoire, Croatia, Germany, Guatemala, Holy See, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Kuwait, Mexico, Myanmar, Aotearoa New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland all acknowledged the harm caused to civilians by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in their statements.
When explosive weapons are dropped or launched into populated areas, it causes a predictable pattern of harm. Civilians are killed and injured, with children particularly vulnerable. Explosive weapons also destroy critical civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, and power and water systems, which impacts the provision of essential services and leads to long-term civilian suffering.
The direct and reverberating harm caused by the bombing and shelling of towns, cities, and other populated areas was emphasised by Amb. Fergal Mythen, Amb. Merete Fjeld Brattested and Amb. Maritza Chan Valverde, Permanent Representatives of Ireland, Norway, and Costa Rica, respectively, during a First Committee side event. Ms. Camilla Molyneux, a representative from the International Network on Explosive Weapons, highlighted the consistent and extensive patterns of harm seen in ongoing conflicts, including displacement, high numbers of civilian casualties, and lack of access to essential services, as seen in Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, and Ukraine. Ms. Marwa Almbaed, a survivor and self-advocate from Syria, described some of the long-term physical and psychological impacts the use of explosive weapons can have on civilians, including her own life-altering injuries and a friend driven to commit suicide from the trauma of seeing his family killed.
The harm caused to civilians and civilian infrastructure when explosive weapons are used in populated areas was described as unacceptable by Croatia, the Holy See, Iran, Ireland, and Norway. Switzerland also expressed concern about the risk to civilians and civilian objects in populated areas. The use of explosive weapons in populated areas has direct and indirect effects that can last for decades, Norway stated, and pointed to Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine as examples, as did Ireland, with Canada citing the conflict in Ukraine and in the Middle East in its statement. Iran also highlighted the destruction of essential infrastructure from Israel’s use of explosive weapons in Gaza, whilst Myanmar spoke of the Myanmar military’s domestic use of explosive weapons on civilian populations.
A number of states expressed grave concern at the growing number of conflicts being fought in urban and populated areas, causing widespread civilian suffering. This was underscored by Austria, the Holy See, Ireland, Aotearoa New Zealand, and Norway. In its statement, the Holy See said that when explosive weapons are used in densely populated areas, they become increasingly indiscriminate. Croatia, Indonesia, Iran, and Kuwait all expressed concerns about the use of explosive weapons and violations of international humanitarian law.
As in previous years, First Committee meetings have taken place amidst a backdrop of armed conflict, most of which provide real-time examples of how the use of explosive weapons in populated areas causes harm to civilians. This year has been no exception. Austria, Australia, Ireland, Mexico, and Norway emphasised how ongoing use underlines the gravity and urgency of the issue, and the need for international action. Austria, Australia, Canada, France, the Holy See, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Malaysia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, and Switzerland all highlighted the importance of the Political Declaration, or called on states that have yet to do so, to endorse it. Yet, despite the widespread harm to civilians from the use of explosive weapons in current conflicts, most states that endorsed the Political Declaration did not acknowledge examples of such use or call for action to address them, despite their clear illustration of the need to strengthen the protection of civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.
The Political Declaration is the first formal international recognition that the use of explosive weapons in populated areas has severe humanitarian consequences that must be urgently addressed. It sets an agenda for the progressive realisation of strengthened protection of civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. This requires broad universalisation and meaningful implementation at the national level.
The Political Declaration will only be effective if it is implemented by a large number of states. During the First Committee side event noted above, Ms. Juliana Helou van der Berg from the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) emphasised the importance of national level political leadership and implementation. This should include states reviewing existing and developing new policies and practices to ensure alignment with the Declaration’s commitments. The responsibility to implement the Declaration, said Amb. Merete Fjeld Brattested, lies with states. This, Aotearoa New Zealand expressed, had to happen on a national level through a country’s own practices and policies on the use of explosive weapons. It also referenced the Declaration’s commitments on safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access and victim assistance. The need for further national-level action on implementation was reiterated by Amb. Maritza Chan Valverde, stating that she expected to see further developments reported on during the second international follow-up conference in Costa Rica in July 2025.
The success of the first international follow-up conference was highlighted by multiple states during the First Committee meetings, including Italy, Portugal, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (UK). The conference provided a roadmap and reaffirmed states’ readiness to translate the Political Declaration’s commitments into actions, Norway stated. Canada, the European Union (EU), Norway, the Philippines, Switzerland, and the UK all referenced the next follow-up conference in Costa Rica in July 2025 in their statements. The need and commitment to continue work through the Declaration to mitigate and prevent the harm to civilians from the use of explosive weapons was expressed by the EU, Austria, Australia, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, the Philippines, Switzerland, Norway, and the UK. Over the next eight months, before the next international follow-up conference, there is a real opportunity for these and like-minded states to make genuine progress. This will require decisive action and priority domestically and on the international stage. As underlined both by Amb. Merete Fjeld Brattested and Camilla Molyneux at the side event, widespread universalisation and implementation can help set the standards and norms for what the international community finds acceptable when it comes to the use of explosive weapons.