Malta 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 (EU), Malta 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,[1] 2012,[2] and 2013.[3] 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.[4]
Malta aligned with the World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitment to ‘Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity’ in its national capacity and as an EU member state. 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.”[5]
Malta 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.[6] Malta also endorsed the joint statement on EWIPA during the 74th UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2019.[7] The statement, also delivered by Ireland, 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.[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
Malta participated in the March 2021 consultation on a political declaration on the use of EWIPA.[10] It opposed the use of the qualifier “can” in the title (Malta defended the use of the expression “arising from” instead of “can arise”) and welcomed the draft’s acknowledgement of reverberating effects.
At the UN Security Council Open Debate War in Cities: Protection of Civilians in Urban Settings on 25 January 2022, Malta welcomed the development of the political declaration and called on parties to conflict to avoid the use of EWIPA.[11]
[1] Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations (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.
[2] Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations (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.
[3] Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations (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.
[4] 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.
[5] Agenda for Humanity Archives, ‘Malta’. https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholder/127.html.
[6] 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.
[7] 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/.
[8] Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations (2019). ‘UNGA74 First Committee Debate on Conventional Weapons: Joint Statement on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas Delivered by H.E. Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations, 2019, https://article36.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/UNGA74-joint-statement-on-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas.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.
[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.