Italy has acknowledged the harm caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) and committed to action on the matter.
Statements
Italy condemned the use of EWIPA in a statement at the 2018 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). In the statement, Italy expressed its concern at the grave humanitarian impacts of EWIPA. It also voiced its support for discussions on EWIPA within the auspices of the CCW and called for the continuation of these discussions to facilitate the sharing of military practices and measures to reduce the humanitarian impacts of EWIPA.[1]
Italy aligned with the World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitments to ‘Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity’ as an EU member state in May 2016. 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.”[2]
In October 2018, Italy 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 impacts of the use of EWIPA and urging states to reverse the trend of high levels of civilian harm.[3] Italy also endorsed the joint statement during the 74th United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee in 2019.[4] 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.[5]
As a member of the European Union (EU), Italy 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,[6] 2012,[7] and 2013.[8] 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 international humanitarian law (IHL).[9] 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.[10]
At the UN Security Council Open Debate War in Cities: Protection of Civilians in Urban Settings on 25 January 2022, Italy condemned the use of EWIA that causes urban destruction and human suffering.[11] At the same meeting, the Group of Friends of the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, of which Italy 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.[12]
Political declaration
Italy has been an active participant in the process towards a political declaration on the use of EWIPA. During the consultation for a political declaration in 2019, Italy expressed that international humanitarian law (IHL) provides a sufficient framework with which to address the use of EWIPA, but that the challenge lies in implementing IHL in the dynamics of current conflicts, particularly as this relates to the principles of distinction, necessity, proportionality, and precaution.[13] Italy also called for the adoption and review of policies and practices—including in military doctrines, tactical instructions, rules of engagement, the testing and development of new weapons, education, and other measures—to enhance protection of civilians and compliance with IHL.[14]
During the 2021 consultations, Italy reiterated its belief that that the core of the issue is properly implementing IHL given challenging dynamics on the ground and noted that states’ duty is to recall the key principles of IHL.[15] Italy suggested referencing measures that already exist to take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimise civilian harm, including battle damage assessments and strict adherence to IHL. Italy also called for the inclusion of the destruction of “cultural heritage” within the declaration as one of the harms caused by the use of EWIPA. It also welcomed the inclusion of gender dimensions of harm, supported the strengthening of the victim assistance provision, and called for an open, transparent, and inclusive follow-up process for the political declaration.[16]
[1] Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations (2018). ‘Statement to the 2018 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons’. https://italiarappginevra.esteri.it/rappginevra/resource/doc/2018/12/2018_statement_ita_ccw_hcp_emerging_issues.pdf.
[2] Agenda for Humanity Archives. ‘Italy’. https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholders/commitments/207.html.
[3] 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.
[4] INEW (2019). ‘Seventy-one States call for Action on Impact of Explosive Weapons in Joint Statement to UN General Assembly’. https://www.inew.org/seventy-one-states-call-for-action-on-impact-of-explosive-weapons-in-joint-statement-to-un-general-assembly/.
[5] 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.
[6] Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations (2011). ‘EU 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.
[7] Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations (2012). ‘EU 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/.
[8] Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations (2013). ‘EU Statement during the August 2013 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’. https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7019.
[9] 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.
[10] 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.
[11] 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.
[12] 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.
[13] Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations (2019). ‘Written Submission’. https://www.dfa.ie/media/dfa/ourrolepolicies/peaceandsecurity/ewipa/Italy-Written-Submission-18-November-2019.pdf.
[14] Reaching Critical Will (2019). ‘Towards a Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas: States Need to Ensure that Expressed Commitments Translate into Real Impacts on the Ground’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/news/latest-news/14451-towards-a-political-declaration-on-the-use-of-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas-states-need-to-ensure-that-expressed-commitments-translate-into-real-impacts-on-the-ground.
[15] Ibid.
[16] 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.