Afghanistan has not yet endorsed the Political Declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. It did not actively participate in the negotiations towards a Political Declaration but has, however, participated in other related events including the 2019 Vienna Conference on Protecting Civilians in Urban Warfare 1.
Statements and positions
In a statement during the General Debate of the 69th UN General Assembly First Committee in 2014, Afghanistan noted that the “use of high Explosive Weapons systems with wide area effect, such as mortars, rockets and grenades, by terrorist groups in civilian populated areas and use of civilians as human shields have resulted in a dramatic increase in civilian casualties.”2
As a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Afghanistan aligned with World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitments to ‘Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity’ in May 2016, including 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.” 3