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.
The First Committee’s 2024 session took place against a backdrop of armed conflict, many of which exemplify the harm caused to civilians when explosive weapons are used in populated areas. This is not new. Yet the scale of civilian harm from explosive weapons in ongoing conflicts has prompted statements of significant concern by states.
In the last year, the use of explosive weapons has caused widespread harm to civilians. This has been particularly severe in Palestine, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, and Ukraine. In Ukraine, recent use of missiles and bombs, in particular on cities, has contributed to high casualty numbers, and damaged or destroyed educational and health facilities and energy infrastructure. In Myanmar, bombing and shelling of clinics, hospitals and pharmacies has affected people’s access to healthcare. Expanding conflict and an increase in explosive weapons use is placing Myanmar’s civilians in growing danger. In Lebanon and Sudan, the widespread use of explosive weapons has caused massive displacement crises.
Nowhere are the devastating impacts from explosive weapons use on civilians more visible than in Gaza. Israel’s military campaign, which has relied heavily on explosive weapons, has adversely affected all of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents, with 1.9 million Gazans displaced. Since October 2023, more than 43,000 people have been killed and 102,000 injured. Thousands more are reported missing and are assumed to be trapped or dead under rubble, while civilians continue to face intense bombardment from airstrikes and shelling.
During this year’s inaugural First Committee meeting, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, underlined the gravity of the problem, stating that “the use of explosive weapons in populated areas remains one of the most significant threats to civilians in armed conflict. Such use of these weapons is unconscionable in light of the observed pattern of civilian harm and the likelihood of indiscriminate effects. The horrific scenes from Ukraine or Gaza speak for themselves.”
When explosive weapons are used in populated areas, it causes a predictable pattern of harm. Each year, the bombing and shelling of towns and cities kills and injures tens of thousands of civilians, with children particularly vulnerable. It destroys 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.
In the last five weeks of First Committee meetings, some states acknowledged this pattern of harm, including Croatia, the Holy See, Iran, Ireland, and Norway. The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), the Group of Arab States, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Nordic countries, Algeria, Brazil, Bolivia, Egypt, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, the Maldives, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Oman, Palestine, Peru, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Türkiye, and Yemen, among others, referenced explosive weapon use and widespread civilian harm in Gaza.
Canada, Georgia, Moldova, Norway, and Poland drew attention to the use of explosive weapons by Russian forces in Ukraine and subsequent humanitarian consequences. Kenya, Norway, and Slovenia expressed concern about civilian harm caused by explosive weapons in Sudan.
Despite the severe and widespread harm caused to civilians by explosive weapons in current conflicts, the majority of states that have endorsed the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas did not acknowledge examples of ongoing use or call for action to address these. This, despite these conflicts underscoring the need to strengthen the protection of civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.
In the last five weeks, a number of states have nonetheless expressed grave concern at the growing number of conflicts being waged in towns, cities, and other populated areas. The Political Declaration is the first formal international recognition of the widespread civilian suffering caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and sets an agenda for the progressive realisation of strengthened protection of civilians.
For the Political Declaration to have the intended effect, it requires widespread universalisation and implementation. Eighty-seven states have endorsed it thus far. As First Committee meetings come to an end, the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW) repeats its call for states to continue to publicly acknowledge and call for action to address the severe civilian harm from explosive weapons, and for more states to endorse the Political Declaration.
In July 2025, the second international follow-up conference on the Political Declaration will take place in Costa Rica. INEW urges states to prioritise national implementation in the run-up to the conference. All states that have adopted the Political Declaration should assess the steps required at the national level for its implementation, including in the areas of military policy and practice, victim assistance and humanitarian access, and data collection. Addressing diplomats and civil society at a First Committee side event, Ambassador Maritza Chan, the Chair of First Committee and Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the UN, said she expected states to present new implementation efforts at the upcoming conference in San José.
The use of explosive weapons in populated areas remains one of the biggest threats to civilians in armed conflict. Active and meaningful implementation of the Political Declaration by a growing number of states can contribute to the development of new norms and standards on what is considered acceptable use of explosive weapons by the international community. With the widespread civilian harm caused by explosive weapons, highlighted repeatedly at First Committee, this has never been more important.