Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Mr. Chair,
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Qatar, San Marino, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, State of Palestine, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Uruguay and my own country, Austria.
Protecting civilians is a major challenge in contemporary armed conflicts. Armed conflicts are increasingly fought in towns, cities and other populated areas where civilians, civilian objects and military objectives are often in close proximity.
The use of explosive weapons in populated areas is one of the main drivers of suffering in these contexts. Beyond immediate death and injuries of civilians, damage to civilian infrastructure can disrupt interconnected essential services such as water and sanitation, electricity, healthcare, and education, with consequences both during and long after hostilities have ended. Protecting essential services such as healthcare, water, sanitation and electricity is therefore an integral part of protecting civilians.
Children are affected in distinct and often disproportionate ways. The 2026 UN SG Report on Children and Armed Conflict highlighted the severe impact of explosive weapons in populated areas on children. In 2025, almost 70 per cent of child casualties verified by the UN were caused by explosive weapons.
This is unacceptable, and much more must be done to protect civilians, including children, in armed conflict.
International humanitarian law applies to all parties in every armed conflict and provides the fundamental legal framework for protecting civilians in these circumstances. Nevertheless, this is an issue that the UNGA First Committee should address as well, as the right to choose means and methods of warfare is not unlimited. Respect for international humanitarian law and accountability for violations are essential to preventing future civilian harm.
A number of international initiatives provide practical frameworks to strengthen the protection of civilians in urban warfare.
One of them is the Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, adopted in Dublin in 2022. It provides an important framework for strengthening policies and practices aimed at preventing and mitigating civilian harm arising from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.
The ICRC’s Global Initiative on IHL focuses on preserving the law’s protective purpose. In particular, its workstreams on civilian infrastructure and hospitals point to practical measures to prevent harm and protect civilians and civilian objects, including in urban warfare. We look forward to the High-Level Conference in Jordan on 7 December as an opportunity to advance discussions on practical measures to better protect civilians and essential civilian infrastructure in armed conflict.
These initiatives reinforce one another alongside the Safe Schools Declaration, the Children and Armed Conflict Agenda and the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda, and the full implementation of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.
We call on UN Member States to strengthen the protection of civilians in armed conflict, including by continuing to exchange experiences and good practices on how to:
- review and adapt national policies and operational guidelines to align with humanitarian objectives,
- factor direct and indirect effects on civilians, which are reasonably foreseeable, into the planning and conduct of military operations in line with international humanitarian law,
- strengthen policies and practices governing the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, including restricting or refraining as appropriate from their use where their effects may be expected to cause harm to civilians and civilian objects,
- strengthen efforts to ensure humanitarian access,
- record, track and analyse civilian harm through the collection and sharing of data disaggregated by gender, age, and disability,
- mark and clear explosive remnants of war, support risk education, and assist victims and affected communities,
- build capacity, including through military-to-military dialogue.
We encourage the United Nations to address unacceptable harms in urban warfare in its reporting and peace operations training, as well as the ICRC, civil society, and academia to continue research and support States to share and exchange best practices.
We encourage States to engage with and formally support relevant initiatives to strengthen the protection of civilians in armed conflict, including the EWIPA Political Declaration, the Safe Schools Declaration, the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel, and the ICRC Global Initiative.
Our efforts must be measured by whether they reduce civilian harm, protect civilians, and improve the protection and well-being of people and communities affected by armed conflicts. We urge UN Member States to intensify consideration of this issue.
Thank you.