Jordan has acknowledged the harm caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA).

Statements

Jordan condemned the use of EWIPA during the February 2014 UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict. In the statement, Jordan noted that the use of EWIPA demonstrates the failure of the international community to protect civilians. This, it said, must be tackled in an effective and resolute manner.[1]

Jordan has also condemned the use of EWIPA as a member of the Human Security Network at both the August 2013 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict[2] and the 2014 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict.[3] In these statements, the Human Security Network called for all parties to an armed conflict to refrain from using explosive weapons with a wide impact area in populated areas, emphasising that these weapons are indiscriminate within their zones of detonation and therefore pose unacceptable risks to civilians.

As a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Afghanistan aligned with World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitments to ‘Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity’ in May 2016, including the commitment “to promote and enhance the protection of civilians and civilian objects, especially in the conduct of hostilities, for instance by working to prevent civilian harm resulting from the use of wide-area explosive weapons in populated areas, and by sparing civilian infrastructure from military use in the conduct of military operations.”[4]

[1] UN Security Council (2014). ‘February 2014 UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Meeting Transcript’. https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7109.

[2] UN Security Council (2013). ‘August 2013 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Meeting Transcript’. https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7019.

[3] UN Security Council (2014). ‘February 2014 UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Meeting Transcript’. https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7109.

[4] Agenda for Humanity. ‘Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)’. https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholder/233.html.