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Norway

  • State
  • Acknowledged harm
  • Committed to action

Norway has been a vocal advocate against the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA). It has acknowledged the harm caused by the use of EWIPA and committed to action on the issue. 

Statements

Norway has spoken against the use of EWIPA in its national capacity at the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in 2011[1] and 2017.[2]

In June 2014, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway convened a second informal meeting of governmental, military and other experts on strengthening the protection of civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in Oslo.[3]

Norway also spoke on the issue at the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2015,[4] 2016,[5] and 2017[6] expressing support to the UN Secretary-General’s call to refrain from using explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas, and welcoming a political declaration on the issue.

Norway participated in the Vienna Conference on the Protection of Civilians in Urban Warfare in 2019. In that occasion, Norway referenced the success of the Safe Schools Declaration but asked how to have a dialogue that will lead to common understandings and practical measures leading to the full implementation of international humanitarian law (IHL).[7] Norway also urged that examples of good policy and practice do not just remain “mission specific anecdotes” but become standard procedures to reduce harm, and emphasised that a declaration should comprise practical measures and procedures. It noted that the Safe Schools Declaration process was a good approach in that practical guidelines were created before the declaration.[8]

Norway also spoke out against EWIPA in joint statements, including as part the Group of Friends on Protection of Civilians including at the UN Security Council Open Debate in 2012[9] and 2022,[10] and as part of the Human Security Network at the August 2013 UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict,[11] and the February 2014 UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict.[12] Norway also endorsed a statement on EWIPA delivered by Sweden on behalf of Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden during the June 2015 Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict.[13]

Norway has signed onto other joint statements by the Nordic Group that have drawn attention to the importance of adhering to IHL and avoiding the use of EWIPA, including at the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in 2012,[14] 2013,[15] 2014,[16] and 2016.[17] In these statements, the Nordic Group highlighted the use of EWIPA as an issue that requires immediate attention, including through robust data collection on its impact and the sharing of policies and practices to prevent the use of EWIPA. At the UN Security Council Open Debate War in Cities: Protection of Civilians in Urban Settings on 25 January 2022, the Nordic Countries jointly called on all parties to conflict to prevent civilian harm resulting from use of EWIPA, especially those with wide area effects.[18]

Norway aligned with the World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitment to ‘Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity, that 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.”[19]

Norway endorsed the joint statement on EWIPA during 73th UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2018. The statement, delivered by Ireland, called attention to the devastating and long-lasting humanitarian impact of the use of EWIPA and urging states to reverse the trend of high levels of civilian harm.[20] Norway also endorsed the Ireland-led joint statement during the 74th United Nations General Assembly First Committee in 2019.[21] 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.[22]

At the UN Security Council Open Debate War in Cities: Protection of Civilians in Urban Settings on 25 January 2022, Norway said the use of weapons designed for the open battlefield, including heavy explosive weapons, “should be minimised in urban areas.” In addition, the Nordic Countries jointly called on all parties to conflict to prevent civilian harm resulting from use of EWIPA, especially those with wide area effects.[23]

Political declaration

Norway participated in all three consultations held between 2019 and 2021 regarding a political declaration on the use of EWIPA. In 2019,[24] it said that the objective of the declaration should be to strengthen IHL, adding that the declaration should include encouragement of cooperation among states and/or with civil society to build a community of practice.[25]

During the second round of consultations in Geneva in 2020, Norway stated that the declaration must not weaken IHL by being selective in references or abbreviating or restating it, and that the reverberating effects on the use of EWIPA should also be included in Section 1. In addition, Norway said paragraph 1.3 should mention the particular challenge of clearance of explosive remnants of war and environmental effects, and agreed when the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) suggested adding “in violation of IHL” in the topic of improvised explosive devices.[26]

In the third round of consultations, held in 2021, Norway raised the following points:

  • It opposed the use of qualifier “can” in the title.
  • Norway specifically noted the title as the most striking use of “can” to weaken the message, arguing that the “arising from” construction in the prior draft was better and was factually correct.
  • It also opposed qualifiers throughout the text, including but not limited to 1.2, 1.3, 1.8, where humanitarian impacts are described, as well as the chapeau for Section 3.
  • Norway was troubled by the qualifiers (such as “can”) in Section 1 that appeared to weaken the causal connection between the use of EWIPA and civilian harm, arguing that the premise of the declaration is that explosive weapons do cause harm, even if not every time, often enough. 
  • Norway argued that “with wide area effects” should be removed from the title and most places in the text, in particular with respect to 2.2, as IHL applies to all weapons.
  • In the topic about types of harm, Norway noted that the affected population is not a homogenous mass, that there are particular risks to children, and that the declaration should clearly acknowledge this reality.
  • Norway raised concerns about the “relatively new” term “reverberating effects.” Norway stressed that both direct and indirect effects are already part of their own operational decision-making, but that reverberating effects were less familiar. As such, Norway suggested references to “reverberating effects” be moved to Section 4, as they and their mitigation are nonetheless important.
  • Norway raised specific concerns with the phrase “restrict use,” as it may imply a commitment to reduce use relative to existing/prior use. Norway suggested replacing “restrict” with “minimise,” which clearly asks for as little use of EWIPA as possible. In addition, Norway noted that 3.3’s most important added value is in developing policies and practices to avoid civilian harm, for which IHL already “provides a solid toolbox”.
  • Norway also spoke to its support for a regular schedule of meetings to ensure the declaration remains relevant. It also raised concerns regarding the inclusion of the “working group” proposed in the second half of 4.6, though they did not object to the actual subject matter or mandate of such a group—just its inclusion in the declaration and as part of the declaration’s follow-up mechanism.[27]

 

[1] UN Security Council (2012). ‘UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Meeting Transcript’. https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.6531(Resumption1).

[2] UN Security Council (2017). ‘UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Meeting Transcript’. https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7951. 

[3] INEW (2014). ‘Informal Expert Meeting on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians From the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas’. https://www.inew.org/informal-expert-meeting-on-strengthening-the-protection-of-civilians-from-the-use-of-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas-2/. 

[4] Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations (2015). ‘UNGA70 First Committee General Debate Statement’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com15/statements/13October_Norway.pdf.

[5] Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations (2016). ‘UNGA71 First Committee General Debate Statement’., https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com16/statements/5Oct_Norway.pdf. 

[6] Nordic Group (2017). ‘UNGA72 First Committee Statement’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com17/statements/2Oct_Nordic.pd

[7] Reaching Critical Will (2019). ‘States Commit to Take Political Action on explosive Weapons at Vienna Conference’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/news/latest-news/14061-states-commit-to-take-political-action-on-explosive-weapons-at-vienna-conference. 

[8] Ibid.

[9] Group of Friends on Protection of Civilians’ Statement at the June 2012 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, p. 30, https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.6790. 

[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] Statement of the Human Security Network at the August 2013 UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict. Available at: http://www.peacewomen.org/sites/default/files/chile_poc_august_2013_debate__0.pdf. 

[12] Statement of the Human Security Network at the February 2014 UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict. Available at: http://www.peacewomen.org/sites/default/files/statement_-_slovenia__human_security_network__0.pdf. 

[13] Statement by the Nordic Countries at the June 2015 Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict, p. 37, https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7466. 

[14] The Nordic Group (2012). ‘Nordic Group Statement during the June 2012 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’. https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7019.

[15] The Nordic Group (2013). ‘Nordic Group Statement during the August 2013 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’. http://www.peacewomen.org/sites/default/files/european_union_poc_august_2013_debate_0.pdf.

[16] The Nordic Group (2014). ‘Nordic Group Statement during the February 2014 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’. https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7109.

[17] The Nordic Group (2016). ‘Nordic Group Statement during the January 2016 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’. https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7606.

[18] 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.

[19]  Agenda for Humanity. ‘Norway’.  https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholders/commitments/227.html.

[20] 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.

[21] 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/.

[22] 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.

[23] 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.

[24] 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. 

[25] Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations (2019). ‘Statement to EWIPA Consultations Geneva’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/ewipa/declaration/statements/18Nov_Norway.pdf.

[26] Ray Acheson, Reaching Critical Will (2020). ‘Impacts, not Intentionality: The Imperative of Focusing on the Effects of Explosive Weapons in a Political Declaration’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/news/latest-news/14658-impacts-not-intentionality-the-imperative-of-focusing-on-the-effects-of-explosive-weapons-in-a-political-declaration.

[27] 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.

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