INEW calls on all states to avoid the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas, and to condemn such use by others.

As some governments consider a possible military intervention in Syria,  every effort should be made to prevent harm to civilians in Syria from explosive weapons.

Explosive weapons include  mortars, rockets, artillery shells, missiles, aircraft bombs, and other explosive ordnance, as well as improvised explosive devices (IEDs). These weapons use blast and fragmentation, and kill and injure people in the area around the point of detonation.

When these weapons have been used in populated areas, they have caused a predictable pattern of harm. Civilians have often been severely affected, both directly, from the blast and fragment projection, and through damage to vital infrastructure such as to hospitals, housing, and water and sanitation systems.

The use of explosive weapons in populated areas by parties to the conflict has already had a devastating impact on civilians in Syria, as documented by INEW members.

• Action on Armed Violence has found that in Syria, 93% of fatalities due to explosive weapons are civilians. This is far higher than the proportion of civilian deaths from other weapon use (71%).[1]
• Human Rights Watch has investigated nine apparent ballistic missile attacks on populated areas and found that they killed at least 215 people that local residents identified as civilians, including 100 children, between February and July 2013.[2]
• Save the Children has found that children are being killed and maimed by explosive weapons almost daily. While there is no exact figure for how many of the casualties are children, hospital reports show that an increasing number of children are being admitted with burns and injuries from explosions. Explosive weapons have also decimated schools and hospitals and denied humanitarian access from reaching civilians. In interviews with more than 130 refugee children and their families, nearly all cited the constant threat and stress of shelling, bombing, and bombardment of their homes, schools, and communities as their primary reason for fleeing Syria.[3]

The UN Secretary General, other senior UN officials, a wide ranging group of states,  and the International Committee of the Red Cross have spoken out to warn against the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

The UN Secretary General has urged states “to refrain from using explosive weapons with a wide-area impact in densely populated areas” in his most recent report on the protection of civilians.[4]

The UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict has noted the devastating impact the use of explosive weapons in populated areas has on civilians, and especially children, and called on states to refrain from using explosive weapons in populated areas in 2012 reports to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly [5] and most recently in a press statement following a visit to Syria.[6]

At a recent international conference attended by 94 states on “Reclaiming the Protection of Civilians Under International Humanitarian Law,” the Co-Chairs’ summary stated that “the use of explosive force in military operations in densely populated areas has devastating humanitarian consequences for civilians. In particular, the use of explosive weapons with a wide area effect should be avoided”. [7]

Furthermore, no state should use prohibited explosive weapons, such as cluster munitions and antipersonnel landmines, which are banned under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions and the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.