Ireland brokers global declaration to stop bombing of civilians during wartime

Seventy-five nations have signed up to an Irish-brokered global agreement not to use explosive munitions on civilians.

The signatories of the Declaration on the Protection of Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas include three permanent members of the Security Council - the United States, France and Germany, 23 of the 30 members of Nato, as well as Brazil, Japan and Palestine.

Russia, Syria, Israel and Saudi Arabia are not signatories. Neither is Ukraine.

The declaration was initiated by the former Irish ambassador to the UN in Geneva Michael Gaffey and Jamie Walsh, the deputy Irish ambassador to the UN in Geneva. It will be signed off on at an event in Dublin Castle on Friday.

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It was finalised by states on June 17th, 2022 at a meeting at the United Nations in Geneva. It is the culmination of almost three years of diplomatic negotiations led by Ireland involving the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and civil-society organisations, including the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW).

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney will open the meeting, along with other high-level representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations and the International Network on Explosive Weapons, and Syrian armed conflict survivor and activist Nujeen Mustafa.

Ms Mustafa (23) fled Syria along with her family in 2012 during the country’s civil war in which her home city of Aleppo was heavily shelled by government forces aided by Russia. She now lives in Germany with her mother.

“I was so happy there is a commitment that is being made to stop bombing civilians. In my experience the bombing of civilians has become such a common occurrence that nobody even cares. It is just something that is there during war just like injuries, deaths and destruction,” she said.

“It should never be acceptable to live a live where you are constantly threatened and your home is being destroyed and all the places you know are gone. I remember the day that the war had begun in Ukraine and the feeling of dread just came back.”

The declaration is supported by the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW), an NGO partnership calling for immediate action to prevent human suffering from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

INEW spokesperson Laura Boillot said: “Using explosive weapons in cities and towns is now the leading cause of civilian casualties in armed conflicts. It is high time for states to endorse the declaration to limit the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, and to help civilians and their communities during and after conflict.

“We have seen it a lot on our television screens in recent months in Ukraine, but it is a pattern of harm we have seen in many places - Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia, Afghanistan.”

A replica of a bombed-out school installed by Save the Children and INEW took centre stage at a forum in the Richmond Centre in Dublin on Thursday to mark the start of the conference.