At the annual meeting of High Contracting Parties to the UN Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) on 14-15 November 2013, a few states raised concerns over the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, alongside the UN Secretary-General, the ICRC and civil society.

The UN Secretary-General reiterated his concern at the “appalling humanitarian impact of using explosive weapons in populated areas” and appealed to states to “seriously consider this issue in a more focused manner”.

The ICRC reiterated its view that explosive weapons with a wide impact area should be avoided in densely populated areas due to the significant likelihood of indiscriminate effects. It also recalled the UN Secretary-General’s recommendation to states to consider this issue in a more focused manner, to make available information on harm to civilians from the use of explosive weapons, as well as policy statements outlining the conditions under which explosive weapons may or may not be used in populated areas.

Austria, Norway and Ireland all raised concerns over the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Austria welcomed the call by the UN Secretary-General to consider the concrete steps that can be taken to reduce the humanitarian impact of explosive weapons in populated areas. Ireland called for further discussion on the topic.

Richard Moyes of INEW also briefed delegates participating in the CCW meeting on 11 November.

Civil society statements by Article 36 and Human Rights Watch also raised concerns over the impact of explosive weapon use in populated areas, particular with wide area effects, and called for action on this issue.