Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas Threaten Civilians

By an IPS Correspondent Reprint | | Print |

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 8 2013 (IPS) - The use of explosive weapons in populated areas — whether a bombing in Pakistan, shelling in Sudan, Syria or Gaza, or the firing of unguided rockets in Israel– is a major cause of death, injury and destroyed livelihoods.

“Explosive weapons are indiscriminate in nature, they may kill everyone, and they have long-lasting impact on civilians and destroy social structures.” , said Hansjoerg Strohmeyer, Chief of the Policy Development and Studies Branch of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). He was speaking at a panel discussion Friday on the impact of explosive weapons in populated areas—with an estimated 84 percent of casualties being civilians..

This meeting focused on the impact of explosives on children, who were among the casualties of violence in about 733 incidents (16 percent of all incidents), according to the Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) Explosive Violence Monitoring Project.

“The use of explosive weapons in populated areas has a devastating impact on children. As well as killing and injuring, they are denying children access to healthcare and education, and ruining their futures,” stressed Naomi Miyashita, Programme Officer of the U.N. Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict.

She added: “The impact of explosive weapons on children is being raised as an issue of particular concern by the U.N. Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict.”

Use of explosive weapons in populated areas erodes the facilities that society relies upon for shelter, sanitation, healthcare and education. In doing so, these weapons create patterns of harm that can be far greater and more costly than the direct deaths and injuries reported in the media and collated by non-governmental organizations (NGOs)..

“The cost of using explosive weapons is very high. AOAV estimates that at least 25,000 civilians were reported killed and injured from explosive weapons in 2012 but it is underestimated. Data collection is vital to define rights programme goals and response to the problem,” said Richard Moyes, Coordinator of the International Newtwork on Explosive Weapons (INEW).

At the upcoming U.N. Protection of Civilians Debate on 12 February, INEW will call for an end to the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas: a call that has been echoed by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the International Committee of the Red Cross.