The Explosive Weapons Monitor will launch its new report ‘Two Years of Global Harm to Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (2021-2022)’ on Monday, 24 April 2023 at 9:30 – 11:00 EST / 14:30 – 16:00 GMT / 15:30 – 17:00 CET. This is a virtual event.

The use of explosive weapons in and near major towns and cities poses a grave and foreseeable risk of harm to civilians, including death and injury, damage and destruction to civilian infrastructure, and the disruption of essential services. For more than a decade, civil society and international organizations have been documenting this pattern of harm from the use of explosive weapons, in which civilians overwhelmingly bear the brunt of their use in populated areas.

This panel will discuss the findings of the Explosive Weapons Monitor in its new report on the patterns of harm to civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, as shown in its first two years of data collection on incidents of explosive weapon use and casualties, including deaths and injuries, recorded by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), and incidents of explosive weapon use affecting aid access, education and healthcare, recorded by Insecurity Insight in 2021 and 2022. Panelists will share more information about these patterns of harm to civilians and discuss the recently adopted Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas as a powerful tool that can significantly reduce and mitigate the risk of harm to civilians from the use of explosive weapons. Panelists include:

Laura Boillot (Moderator)
Coordinator, International Network on Explosive Weapons

Alma Taslidžan
Disarmament & Protection of Civilians Advocacy Manager, Humanity & Inclusion

Chiara Torelli
Explosive Violence Researcher, Action on Armed Violence

Christina Wille
Director, Insecurity Insight

Katherine Young
Research & Monitoring Coordinator, Explosive Weapons Monitor