Civilians represent majority of victims of explosive weapons in populated areas, HRW says

Human Rights Watch has confirmed that civilians are the majority of victims of explosive weapons in populated areas around the world, including Yemen and Iraq.

In a report it issued with the International Human Rights Clinic of Harvard Law School, the organization said that all countries should support a new political commitment aimed at protecting civilians from the bombing of cities and towns in times of war.

The 23-page “Protection of Civilians” report examines the “Declaration on the Protection of Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas,” which will be open to states for ratification in the Irish capital Dublin on November 18, 2022.

Governments should endorse the declaration and interpret its provisions in a manner that ensures the greatest possible protection for civilians in its statements during the Dublin Conference and beyond.

“The declaration about the use of explosive weapons in populated areas provides an important way to spare civilians one of the greatest threats in contemporary armed conflict,” said Bonnie Docherty, senior arms researcher at Human Rights Watch and lead author of the report.

Human Rights Watch and other organizations have documented the direct and indirect effects of explosive weapons in recent armed conflicts, including in Syria, Gaza, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Sri Lanka.