INEW today published comments on Germany’s Food for Thought Paper on national implementation of the future political declaration on ‘Strengthening the protection of Civilians from Humanitarian Harm arising from the use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas”. Whilst it is important to think ahead and consider how to best support national implementation of a political declaration, the key priority first is for the text of the political declaration to be negotiated and agreed. The political declaration should set a strong humanitarian standard and presumption against use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas, and the declaration’s commitments should guide national actions towards this, which will provide the basis for implementation work.

The full paper is available here.

Image: A local resident removes debris inside the house, which locals said was damaged during a recent shelling, in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine June 17, 2019. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko