States must step up action against bombing and shelling in towns and cities

In November 2022, after years of negotiations, the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas opened for endorsement. By now, the declaration has 90 endorsers. After a follow-up conference in Oslo in 2024, states will gather this week to take stock of progress made since 2022 and to advance implementation efforts.

With the ongoing brutal armed conflicts across the globe – from Gaza to Ukraine to Sudan to Myanmar – the need to prevent and mitigate harm from EWIPA is more critical than ever. PAX is co-founder of the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW), and calls on states to take urgent action to better protect civilians. Roos Boer, Project Leader Humanitarian Disarmament for PAX is in San Jose for the meeting.

Boer: ‘Civilian harm from explosive weapons has not decreased in recent years, on the contrary. On a daily basis, civilians bear the brunt of explosive weapon use in their towns and cities. Endorsers have committed to strengthening civilian protection but have been slow in putting words into action. We are here to call upon states to present concrete steps to protect civilians– including putting clear limits on the use of explosive weapons.’

Humanitarian and environmental effects of EWIPA

The use of explosive weapons in populated areas causes grave civilian harm, especially when weapons with wide-area effects – such as heavy aircraft bombs, inaccurate mortars or multi-barrel rocket launchers – are used. Explosive weapons kill and maim people, while their use also leads to the destruction of civilian infrastructure, including residential areas, schools, hospitals, energy facilities, and water and sanitation infrastructure. This leads to lasting and interrelated reverberating effects: displacement, shattered livelihoods, disruption of essential services, environmental degradation, outbreak of diseases, and socio-economic decline.

Environmental harm from EWIPA represents a critical yet often overlooked dimension. As demonstrated by PAX’ long-standing work on documenting environmental damage from large-scale destruction of populated areas in Syria, Ukraine and Gaza, this can have major effects on people and communities. From generating millions of tons of toxic rubble to releasing hazardous substances from targeted industrial facilities to damaging critical water infrastructure and agricultural land, the use of explosive weapons creates environmental impacts that pose acute and long-term risks to people’s health and survival, hinder recovery, and compound humanitarian crises.

Ahead of the Costa Rica conference, PAX, together with CEOBS, Geneva Water Hub and Norwegian People’s Aid, prepared a joint policy brief Mitigating environmental harm by implementing the EWIPA declaration. Building on insights from the recent and ongoing conflicts, the brief outlines practical steps for states to integrate environmental considerations into their implementation of the EWIPA Declaration – from operational planning and data collection to environmentally sound recovery and alignment with emerging global environmental norms.