The International Network on Explosive Weapons International Network on Explosive Weapons

This content contains descriptions of the consequences of warfare and subject matter that may be distressing. Listener discretion is advised.

When towns and cities are bombed, it is civilians who suffer the most. The use of explosive weapons in populated areas presents one of the greatest threats of harm to civilians in contemporary armed conflict. The Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas was adopted and endorsed by 83 states, and is the first formal agreement that there is an urgent, humanitarian need to protect civilians from the immediate and long-term effects of explosive weapons in populated areas.

On this episode we explore the significance of African states endorsing and implementing the Political Declaration, as well as the relevance of the Declaration in an African context.

Hosted by Kaya Nadesan, this is the International Network on Explosive Weapons podcast.

States, civil society, and international organisations will meet in Geneva on 17 June 2022 to finalise a milestone international agreement on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

In this episode, coordinator of the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW) Laura Boillot, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch Bonnie Docherty and executive director of Project Ploughshares Cesar Jaramillo discuss the final text, which will be presented to states at the meeting.

More than 65 states have participated in this political declaration process, including some major users of explosive weapons. Once the text is finalised, the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW) will call on all states to join the political declaration at the earliest opportunity and, in doing so, to demonstrate their commitment to strengthening the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

From Mosul, Aleppo, Raqqa, Taiz, Donetsk, Fallujah and Sana'a, and now to Kyiv and Mariupol - each year tens of thousands of civilians are killed and injured across the world as a result of use of explosive weapons in towns, cities and other populated areas. This pattern of harm has been well-documented to show that when heavy explosive weapons are used in towns and cities - it is civilians that suffer the most.

In this episode, INEW’s Coordinator and Steering Committee members share views on the last draft of the political declaration in preparation for the negotiations of an international political declaration to protect civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. 

Also available on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Audible and Amazon Music.

Contributors:
Laura Boillot of Article 36 & Coordinator of INEW
Alma Taslidžan of Humanity and Inclusion
Steve Goose of Human Rights Watch
Uldduz Sohrabi of Article 36

A city which is subjected to bombing and shelling faces a high likelihood of being turned to rubble. But it also ruins the fabric of the city, ruining lives and livelihoods, negatively impacting the community at large, and often even after fighting has stopped. In this episode, INEW gathers experts who speak about the impact of explosive weapons on critical infrastructure including homes, hospitals and schools, as well as electricity and water systems, and the knock-on effects this has on the provision of essential services such as healthcare. It also explores the impact that explosive weapons have on the environment.
Drawing on testimonies from survivors in Nagorno-Karabakh and cases such as that of the Hodeidah Port in Yemen, this episode aims to highlight the impact of damage and destruction to critical infrastructure, including the reverberating knock-on effects and how they impact peoples’ lives.

People living through situations of armed conflict often witness the use of explosive weapons and their horrific consequences when used in towns, cities, and other populated areas. In this episode, Article 36 speaks to a survivor in northern Iraq who fled the war in Ras Al-Ain in northern-eastern Syria, about her experiences and trauma during and after attacks on her hometown. INEW gains insight from Professor Edgar Jones of King's College London who specialises in the psychological impact of modern war and conflict and Alma Taslidžan Al-Osta, an Advocacy Manager at Humanity and Inclusion who works with people impacted by bombing.

In this episode, INEW discusses the consequences of explosive weapons by bringing together survivors’ voices from Raqqa in Syria, as well as voices from the ground, including a trauma doctor from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Head of Humanitarian Affairs at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The episode also discusses the specific type of physical harms that occur from this method of warfare with the Centre for Blast Injuries Studies of Imperial College London and lastly speaks to what INEW and its members wants to see in the new political declaration to protect civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.