Luxembourg has acknowledged the harm caused by the use of EWIPA and committed to action on the issue.
Statements
During the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in 2013, Luxembourg condemned the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas.[1] In addition, at the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in 2016, it highlighted the impact of those weapons on schools and hospitals.[2]
Luxembourg aligned with the Commitment 123002 at the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016, reinforcing the commitment to data collection on the impacts of EWIPA, to exchange of best practices, and to explore effective measures to ensure respect for international humanitarian law (IHL), including a political declaration on the issue.[3]
As a member of the European Union (EU), Luxembourg aligned with World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitments to “Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity” in May 2016, including the commitment: This included 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]
As a member of the EU, Luxembourg has signed onto numerous joint statements condemning the use of EWIPA and the harms it causes to civilians and civilian objects, including during the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in 2011,[5] 2012,[6] and 2013.[7] The EU also spoke out against the use of EWIPA during the General Debate of the 72nd UN General Assembly First Committee in 2017, recognising its potential impact on civilians and calling on all parties to armed conflict to fully comply with IHL.[8]
At the UN Security Council Open Debate War in Cities: Protection of Civilians in Urban Settings on 25 January 2022, the EU expressed concern with the indiscriminate use of EWIPA, including near hospitals, schools, and universities.
In October 2018, Luxembourg was one of 50 states to endorse the joint statement on the use of EWIPA at the UN General Assembly First Committee, calling attention to the devastating and long-lasting humanitarian impact of the use of EWIPA and urging states to reverse the trend of high levels of civilian harm.[9] At this same meeting, the Group of Friends of the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict (of which Luxembourg is a member) called on states to enhance the protection of civilians, including from the use of EWIPA, and took note of the ongoing consultations to develop a political declaration on this subject.
Luxembourg also endorsed the Ireland-led joint statement during the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee in 2019.[10] The statement 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.[11]
Political declaration
During the negotiations for a political declaration on the subject, Luxembourg stressed the importance of victim assistance at the Vienna Conference on the Protection of Civilians in Urban Warfare organised in 2019.[12] In addition, it presented a written submission with some comments on the revised draft of the political declaration at the March 2021 online consultations, where it suggested: (i) the inclusion of “education” along with healthcare as essential services; (ii) the replacement of the term “urban warfare” to “armed conflict in populated areas” in Sections 1 and 4, (iii) the replacement of the word “restricting” to “minimising” the use of explosive weapons on section 3; and (iv) that meetings to review the implementation of the declaration should be organised regularly on a voluntary and informal basis with civil society organisations, instead of “on a regular basis” as suggested in the original draft.[13]
At the UN Security Council open debate War in Cities: Protection of Civilians in Urban Settings on 25 January 2022, Luxembourg welcomed the development of the political declaration and said it would support a declaration in which states commit to refraining from the use of EWIPA.[14]
[1] INEW (2013). ‘Explosive Weapons Raised as Key Issue in Security Council Debate on Protection of Civilians’. https://dev.inew.org/explosive-weapons-raised-as-key-issue-in-security-council-debate-on-protection-of-civilians/.
[2] INEW (2016). ‘Recognition of Harm from Explosive Weapons at the UN over Summer 2016’. https://dev.inew.org/un-ewipa-refs-summer-2016/.
[3] Agenda for Humanity. ‘Luxembourg’. https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholders/commitments/123.html.
[4] Agenda for Humanity Archives, ‘Belgium’. https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholder/127.html.
[5] European Union (2011). ‘Statement during the May 2011 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict.’ http://www.peacewomen.org/sites/default/files/eu_poc_11may2011_0.pdf.
[6] European Union (2012). ‘Statement during the June 2012 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict.’ http://www.peacewomen.org/security-council/security-council-open-debate-protection-civilians-armed-conflict-june-2012.
[7] European Union (2013). ‘Statement during the August 2013 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict.’ https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7019.
[8] Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations (2017). ‘UNGA72 First Committee Statement’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com17/statements/18Oct_EU.pdf.
[9] Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations (2018). ‘UNGA73 First Committee Joint Statement on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA)’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com18/statements/25Oct_EWIPA.pdf.
[10] 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/.
[11] 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.
[12] Reaching Critical Will (2019). ‘States commit to take political action on explosive weapons at Vienna conference’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/news/latest-news/14061-states-commit-to-take-political-action-on-explosive-weapons-at-vienna-conference.
[13] Permanent Mission of Luxembourg to the United Nations (2021). ‘Draft Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences that Can Arise from the Use of Explosive Weapons with Wide Area Effects in Populated Areas’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/ewipa/declaration/documents/Luxembourg-March2021.pdf.
[14] Ray Acheson, Reaching Critical Will (2022). ‘UN Security Council Debates War in Cities and the Protection of Civilians’. https://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/news/latest-news/16009-un-security-council-debates-war-in-cities-and-the-protection-of-civilians.