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

Statements

During the August 2013 UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, the Republic of Korea called for avoiding the use of explosive weapons with wide area impact in densely populated areas.[1]

Political declaration

The Republic of Korea participated in the Vienna Conference on the Protection of Civilians in Urban Warfare in October 2019[2] and in the second round of consultations in Geneva in 2020.[3] It was also present during the consultation meeting held in 2021, when it supported Sweden’s suggestion to add “in accordance with IHL” to Section 3.3 of the political declaration draft.[4]

[1] Permanent Mission of Republic of Korea to the United Nations (2013). ‘Statement to the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’. http://www.peacewomen.org/sites/default/files/republic_of_korea_poc_august_2013_debate_0.pdf.

[2] INEW (2019). ‘Vienna Conference Marks Turning Point as States Support Negotiation of an International Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons’. https://dev.inew.org/vienna-conference-marks-turning-point-as-states-support-negotiation-of-an-international-political-declaration-on-explosive-weapons/. 

[3] INEW (2020). “More than 70 States Engage in Discussions on Political Declaration’. https://dev.inew.org/more-than-70-states-engage-in-discussions-on-political-declaration/.

[4] Ray Acheson, Reaching Critical Will (2021). ‘Report on the March 2021 Consultations on a Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/news/latest-news/15213-report-on-the-march-2021-consultations-on-a-political-declaration-on-the-use-of-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas.