Antigua and Barbuda has acknowledged the harm caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) and committed to take action on this issue. 

Statements

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean states (CELAC), of which Antigua and Barbuda is a member, drew attention to the harm of weapons such as cluster munitions and antipersonnel mines on civilian populations in a statement to the UN General Assembly First Commission in October 2018. The statement emphasised that the use of these weapons is in clear violation with international humanitarian law (IHL) and called on all states to take immediate measures to ameliorate the humanitarian harms which they cause. [1]

Along with 22 other Latin American and Caribbean states, Antigua and Barbuda participated in the Santiago Regional Meeting on Protecting Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas in 2018. The meeting produced the Santiago Communiqué, in which the participating states agreed to take further action on the issue, including, but not limited to, the following: 

• Encourage collection of data and information to increase awareness and enhance knowledge about the impact of explosive weapons on civilians in populated areas;
• Avoid the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas;
• Act to enhance compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian objects, including school and hospitals during armed conflict and to contribute to alleviating humanitarian harm resulting from the effects of explosive weapons in populated areas;
• Develop effective measures to prevent attacks in contravention of applicable international law against hospitals and schools and protected persons in relation to them;
• Fully support the process that will lead to the negotiation and adoption of an international political declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas;
• Promote bilateral and regional cooperation through sharing experiences, good practices and expertise on reducing the harm caused by explosive weapons to civilians;
• Constructively engage in discussions and initiatives at the international level that could effectively provide greater protection to civilians in armed conflicts;
• Foster deeper and further engagement from the Latin American and Caribbean states and facilitate increased involvement as a group of states;
• Continue and strengthen cooperation and partnerships with international organisations and civil society organisations to draw upon their relevant expertise and support;
• Channel contributions to the draft international political declaration on the matter, as well as engage in advocacy, at national, regional and international levels. [2]

Antigua and Barbuda endorsed the Ireland-led joint statement during the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly First Committee in 2019.[3] The statement recognised the devastating humanitarian effects of the use EWIPA and encouraged states to participate in international efforts to address the impacts of the use of EWIPA on civilians, including by working towards the creation of an international political declaration on this issue.[4]

[1] CELAC (2018). ‘UNGA73 First Committee Statement’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com18/statements/10Oct_CELAC.pdf.

[2] INEW (2018). ‘Communiqué from Regional Meeting on Protecting Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (Santiago, Chile)’. https://dev.inew.org/communique-from-regional-meeting-on-protecting-civilians-from-the-use-of-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas-santiago-chile/.

[3] INEW (2019). ‘Seventy-one States call for Action on Impact of Explosive Weapons in Joint Statement to UN General Assembly.’ https://dev.inew.org/seventy-one-states-call-for-action-on-impact-of-explosive-weapons-in-joint-statement-to-un-general-assembly/.

[4] Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations (2019). ‘UNGA74 First Committee Joint Statement on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA)’. https://article36.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/UNGA74-joint-statement-on-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas.pdf.