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Poland

  • State
  • Acknowledged harm
  • Committed to action

Poland has acknowledged the harm caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) and committed to take action on this issue. 

Statements

Poland aligned with the World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitments to ‘Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity’ in its national capacity and 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”[1]

Poland acknowledged the harm of EWIPA on several occasions in its national capacity at the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in 2016[2] and 2017.[3]

At the UN Security Council Open Debate War in Cities: Protection of Civilians in Urban Settings on 25 January 2022, Poland said the use of EWIPA takes devastating toll on people and services, noting that it causes severe disruption of health care, water, sanitation, and more. It highlighted the effects of the use of EWIPA in Ukraine and Libya, where damage to water infrastructure has been severe.[4]

As a member of the European Union (EU), Poland 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] and at the UN Security Council Open Debate War in Cities: Protection of Civilians in Urban Settings on 25 January 2022.[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]

In June 2012, as part of the Group of Friends, at the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Portugal referenced the problem of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA).[10] At the UN Security Council Open Debate War in Cities: Protection of Civilians in Urban Settings on 25 January 2022, the Group of Friends of the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, of which Poland 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.[11]

Poland participated in the Conference on the Protection of Civilians in Urban Warfare in October 2019 in Vienna.[12]

 

Political declaration

Poland participated in the first round of consultations for a political declaration on the use of EWIPA in 2019.[13] In its statement, it said the declaration should stress that existing international humanitarian law (IHL) provides a sufficient framework to address the problem of EWIPA, explaining that it would “prefer, already at this stage, to have a clarity that there is now intention to work out any restrictions on legitimate use of explosive weapons, also bearing in mind that this category consists of very wide range of weapon and munition.”[14] Poland also argued that it is important not to limit the legitimate use of weapons and said that “In the context of CCW it is also important to differentiate between explosive weapons and IEDs. While it is indifferent from the victims’ point of view, it is very important when we speak on responsibility of states.”[15]

During the second round of consultations in 2020,(16] Poland emphasised its preference against new regulations on the use of EWIPA and instead for the full implementation of existing IHL. It also argued that humanitarian issues arising from such use would be effectively mitigated with full implementation of IHL and argued that adequate preparedness of military personnel is important to this end.

 

In its written contribution, Poland made the following remarks:

  • 1.1: “The text of the Political Declaration should identify real problems we are trying to solve. First, we suggest to clearly define the term EWIPA, and use this very term consistently throughout the text, without creating any subcategories of EWIPA. The main goal of the declaration should be to condemn unlawful use of explosive weapons in populated areas, without trying to condemn the use of such weapons entirely. When explosive weapons are used in urban operations in accordance with IHL principles, and they meet the proportionality test, we are on the safe side, acting in accordance with the law”.
  • 1.3: It recommended to use expression “unexploded ordnance” rather than “explosive remnants of war” which it thinks is more adequate as referring to a wider spectrum of explosive devices than the ones used during wartime.
  • 1.4: It argued that collection of data, especially aggregated by sex and age, is extremely
    difficult (if possible at all) to implement. 
  • 1.5: It recommended that this provision be moved from this section. It suggested to include it in a preamble stating general political objectives and containing references to other
    documents or processes.
  • 1.6: It did not see the reason for referencing gender-related issues in the declaration. It suggested that this provision could be moved, as containing a general, guiding principle, from this section to the preamble.
  • 1.7: It suggested to move this provision from this section to the preamble. It also
    recommended to use expression “lack of” rather than “erosion” which it thought is more adequate in this context and to add expression “by some actors” to underline that not all actors disrespect the IHL.
  • 2.1: It suggested to add expressions “sufficient legal” and “fully” to stress that by this
    declaration we do not create new legal obligations, and that EWIPA is already covered by IHL, which seems to be more adequate here as a starting point to discuss policy and implementation of IHL. 
  • 2.2: It recommended to use expression “Any initiatives aimed at” rather than “Institutionalising the” which may suggest new international structures are to be established.
  • 2.3: It suggested to use the expression “between the civilian population and combatants and  between civilian objects and military objectives and directing operations only against military objectives” rather than “between combatants and civilians as well as between military objectives and civilian objects” which is more adequate here from its perspective.
  • 4.2: It suggested to replace expression “data” with “information” because it can give a
    better awareness about the situation, as “data” may suggest that only quantitative measures should be collected and shared, excluding qualitative assessments. It also recommended to use consistent terminology throughout the whole text and add expression “if operationally possible” because data collection it is not always possible during military operations.
  • It recommended to use consistent terminology throughout the whole text (i.e., EWIPA or explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas).[17]

 

During the round of consultations in 2021,[18] Poland argued that the concept of EWIPA rather than of urban warfare must be applied throughout the text. It emphasised that the declaration should clarify that it is only the “unlawful” use of EWIPA that it seeks to condemn. Poland praised the inclusion of “women and girls” in the declaration, but noted that it would prefer if the text referred to all affected groups—including elderly people, disabled people, boys, etc.

 

[1] Agenda for Humanity. ‘Poland’. https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholders/commitments/241.html. 

[2] May 2017 UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Poland’s Statement, https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7951. 

[3] May 2017 UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Poland’s Statement, https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7951.

[4] Ray Acheson, “UN Security Council debates war in cities and the protection of civilians,” Reaching Critical Will of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, 28 January 2022, https://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/news/latest-news/16009-un-security-council-debates-war-in-cities-and-the-protection-of-civilians.

[5] European Union (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.

[6] European Union (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/.

[7] European Union (2013). ‘EU Statement during the August 2013 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’.

[8] 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.

[9] European Union (2017). ‘UNGA First Committee Statement’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com17/statements/18Oct_EU.pdf.

[10] INEW (2012). ‘Security Council Debate Highlights Harm From Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas’. https://www.inew.org/security-council-debate-highlights-harm-from-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.

[12] INEW (2019). ‘Vienna Conference Marks Turning Point as States Support Negotiation of an International Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons’. https://www.inew.org/vienna-conference-marks-turning-point-as-states-support-negotiation-of-an-international-political-declaration-on-explosive-weapons/. 

[13] 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.

[14] Permanent Mission of Poland to the United Nations (2019). ‘Statement’ https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/ewipa/declaration/statements/18Nov_Poland.pdf.

[15] Ibid.

[16] 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.

[17]  Permanent Mission of Poland to the United Nations (2020). ‘Written Submission on Elements of a political declaration to ensure the protection of civilians from humanitarian
harm arising from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas’. https://www.dfa.ie/media/dfa/ourrolepolicies/peaceandsecurity/ewipa/Poland-Written-Submission—10-February-2020.pdf.

[18] 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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