ICRC-IFRC joint statement to the second conference on the Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas

When heavy explosive weapons are used in cities, the volunteers and staff of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – National Societies, the ICRC and the IFRC – see appallingly high numbers of civilians wounded and killed. We see entire neighbourhoods turned into rubble, their residents buried underneath. Infrastructure critical for the survival of the civilian population is destroyed and damaged without adequate means for repair. We see hospitals destroyed, medical systems in crisis and patients succumbing to preventable deaths.

We try to alleviate human suffering whenever armed conflict breaks out, including by providing medical care and water and sanitation and by helping families reconnect. Our volunteers and staff experience the humanitarian impacts of urban warfare every day: we mourn our colleagues killed and call for greater protection of humanitarian personnel and those they serve.

The 2022 Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas was a welcome recognition of these weapons’ devastating impact on civilians and civilian objects. However, three years later, their widespread use continues to cause large-scale civilian harm. States that have endorsed the Declaration have yet to fully leverage its political and normative weight to drive concrete change and prevent suffering. Ultimately, the core objective of efforts to universalize and faithfully implement the Declaration must be to make a tangible difference in the lives of civilians affected by the use of explosive weapons in conflicts in Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Gaza and other places, today and in the future. 

The Movement urges States to effectively integrate the objectives and commitments of the Declaration into their national policies and operational practices. National and international implementation efforts must be significantly accelerated. This conference offers an important opportunity to take concrete steps to that end – steps that must be sustained at the national level. The imperative for change on the ground is urgent. The Movement stands ready to support political and military authorities, as appropriate and in line with each component’s mandate and capacity, in strengthening legal and policy frameworks and in adopting practical measures to mitigate risks to civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. In this regard, the recommendations that the ICRC submitted to this conference offer practical and effective steps forward. 

In particular, the Movement calls on States to focus implementation efforts on two areas: 
-    refraining from the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects when fighting in cities, and
-    seeking adherence to the Declaration’s commitments by all parties to armed conflict, including through decisions and actions on arms transfers. 

One of the key normative advances of the Declaration lies in its commitment, set out in paragraph 3.3, to “restricting and refraining as appropriate from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, when their use may be expected to cause harm to civilians and civilian objects”. The type of explosive weapons known to cause the greatest harm are those with wide area effects – including large-yield munitions, whether guided or unguided, as well as unguided indirect-fire weapon systems and multiple barrel rocket launchers. The evidence of both the direct and indirect effects of such weapons on civilians and civilian objects is well established. No actor can reasonably claim ignorance of the consistent and predictable pattern of civilian harm they cause when used in populated areas.

We therefore urge States, in discussions here in San José and in national implementation processes, to focus on how the Declaration’s commitment to refraining from the use of certain explosive weapons can be implemented in both letter and spirit, in order to effectively strengthen the protection of civilians. Just a year ago, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement solemnly called upon all States and parties to armed conflict to adopt and implement policies to avoid using explosive weapons with a wide impact area in populated areas owing to the significant likelihood of indiscriminate effects, including when implementing this commitment in the Declaration. In effect, this requires that as a matter of policy and good practice, explosive weapons with a wide impact area should not be used in populated areas, unless sufficient mitigation measures can be taken to limit their wide area effects and the consequent risk of civilian harm.

The Declaration’s ambition to have a broader impact on State practice in the conduct of hostilities in urban settings globally is reflected in paragraph 4.8, which commits endorsing States to “seek adherence” to the Declaration and practices consistent with it by all parties to armed conflict. This commitment can be implemented by a variety of means including training on international humanitarian law (IHL), sharing best practices on the protection of civilians from the impact of explosive weapons in urban warfare, diplomatic efforts and public communications, as well as responsible arms transfer practices. An effective way of seeking such adherence, therefore, is for States that endorsed the Declaration to condition the transfer of explosive weapons, their components and delivery systems to parties that have or could use them in ways they themselves would not be able to justify in accordance with their commitments under the Declaration.

This political commitment to seek adherence to the Declaration complements States’ legal obligations on arms transfers. All States are obliged, at a minimum, to respect and ensure respect for IHL, including when making decisions about arms transfers. In addition, many of the States gathered here in San José committed to more detailed restrictions through regional arms transfer agreements or joining the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). For instance, States Parties to the ATT are, after conducting a risk assessment and considering mitigation measures, prohibited from exporting arms or items where there is an overriding risk that these could be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of IHL or international human rights law.

This conference represents a critical opportunity to recommit to the imperative of strengthening the protection of civilians in urban warfare. We urge all States that have not yet done so to endorse the Declaration without further delay, and call on all parties to armed conflict – both State and non-State armed groups – to adhere to, and to take effective steps to faithfully implement, its commitments. We also call on all States that have endorsed the Declaration to use relevant forums to actively promote the Declaration for that purpose.