Key Developments in Humanitarian Disarmament: Opposing Arms Transfers and Promoting the Explosive Weapons Declaration

by humanitariandisarmament

Armed Conflict and Civilian Protection Initiative

Over the past two months, armed conflicts, fueled by new arms transfers, continued to cause civilian casualties and other humanitarian consequences. Nevertheless, within the United Nations, there were multiple expressions of support for decreasing the impacts of conduct. In addition, civil society documented the human and environmental effects of war and states convened global meetings, both measures that helped promote humanitarian disarmament instruments.

Activists support UN human rights experts’ February 2024 warning that any states transferring arms to Israel likely do so in violation of international humanitarian law. Credit: Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, 2024.

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On February 23, about 25 UN experts and working groups that are special procedures of the Human Rights Council released a statement warning that “any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law and must cease immediately.” States parties to the Arms Trade Treaty, they said, have additional obligations in this area. Their statement called for an immediate halt to arms transfers to Israel.
On March 1, the UN Environment Assembly adopted a resolution, proposed by Ukraine, that, if effectively implemented, will bolster the UN Environment Programme’s work to support environmental assistance and recovery in areas affected by armed conflict.
From March 4-8, states parties to the Convention on Conventional Weapons convened in Geneva for the Group of Governmental Experts meeting on lethal autonomous weapons systems. Delegates discussed text proposals of the “elements of an instrument,” as the mandate demands, but the body disagreed about what form the instrument should take. For more information, see Reaching Critical Will’s CCW Report.
On March 5, the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, UN Secretary-General António Guterres reminded the international community that “disarmament and non-proliferation are critical not only to a peaceful future, but to our very existence.”
On March 12, the Biden Administration announced that the United States will transfer additional cluster munitions to Ukraine. In a statement following the announcement, the US Cluster Munition Coalition emphasized the deadly and indiscriminate nature of these weapons and urged the United States to change course.
On March 18, the United Nations Security Council convened to discuss nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. In their statements, Security Council member states Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Malta, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone stressed the importance of universalization and implementation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), statements by the permanent five members of the council offered “little vision for progress on nuclear disarmament.”
Stop Killer Robots noted that the increasing use of automated technology in conflict should encourage the international community to redouble its efforts to maintain meaningful human control over the use of force. On April 4, the campaign explained that the Lavender system used by Israeli forces in Gaza is a “target recommendation system” rather than an autonomous weapon system, but that it raises “serious concerns over the increasing use of artificial intelligence in conflict, automation bias, digital dehumanisation, and loss of human control in the use of force.” Mines Action Canada similarly addressed this technology.
On April 5, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on the “human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.” The resolution includes a call for all states to “cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel.”
From April 22-24 states convened in Oslo for the first meeting of states that have endorsed the 2022 Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Area. The International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW) and Norwegian Red Cross organized a Protection Forum, which focused on the effects of explosive weapons and how to address them and centered the voices of affected communities. Norway then hosted a conference to review implementation of the Declaration. The last day featured workshops on (a) military policies and practices and (b) humanitarian access and assistance to conflict-affected communities.
Numerous publications were released at the Oslo meeting, including INEW’s Explosive Weapons Monitor 2023 and the report Destroying Cultural Heritage: Explosive Weapons’ Effects in Armed Conflict and Measures to Strengthen Protection by Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic.
Also in Oslo, PAX released a report on the environmental risks of the war in Ukraine. The previous month, on March 5, the Conflict and Environment Observatory published a preliminary assessment of the environmental consequences of the first 12 months of the war against Ukraine, finding substantial environmental damage and outlining recommendations to aid recovery.

Looking ahead, the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs is hosting the conference “Humanity at the Crossroads: Autonomous Weapons Systems and the Challenge of Regulation” from April 29-30 to advance debate on the topic following last year’s UN General Assembly resolution regarding lethal autonomous weapons systems.