Lithuania has acknowledged the harm caused by explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) and is involved in the process to develop a political declaration on the matter.

Statements

As a member of the European Union, Lithuania acknowledged the harm caused by explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) on several occasions, such as at the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in the years of 2011,[1] 2012,[2] and 2013.[3]

As a member of the European Union (EU), Lithuania aligned with World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitments to “Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity” 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.”[4]

As member of the European Union (EU), Lithuania 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,[5] 2012,[6] and 2013.[7] 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 IHL.[8] 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.[9]

Political declaration

Lithuania has actively participated in the consultations on a political declaration on the use of EWIPA in March 2021.[10] It argued that in the declaration as a whole, and especially in Section 3, there must exist a clear distinction between discriminate and indiscriminate uses of EWIPA, because in its view “not all explosive weapons use” harms civilians. Lithuania also supported qualifiers throughout the text in the title and in Sections 1 and 2, indicating that harm “can” potentially arise from the use of EWIPA—not that it does. Finally, Lithuania argued that the declaration must make clear that International Humanitarian Law (IHL) applies equally to all parties in armed conflicts, including non-state armed groups, which it says pose the greatest challenge to IHL implementation.

[1] 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.

[2] UN Security Council, S/PV.6838 (2012). ‘UN Security Council Open Debate on Children in Armed Conflict Meeting Transcript.’ https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.6790(Resumption1).

[3] 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://www.inew.org/un-security-councils-protection-of-civilians-debate-raises-concerns-over-explosive-weapons/.

[4] Agenda for Humanity Archives, ‘Belgium’. https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholder/127.html.

[5] European Union (2011). ‘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.

[6] European Union (2012). ‘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.

[7] European Union (2013). ‘Statement during the August 2013 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict.’ https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7019.

[8] Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations (2017). ‘UNGA First Committee Statement’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com17/statements/18Oct_EU.pdf.

[9] 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.

[10] 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.