Argentina was actively involved in the process to develop a Political Declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, and was among the first group of states to endorse the Political Declaration in Dublin in November 2022.
Argentina expressed its commitment to the Political Declaration process set out in the Santiago Communiqué in a statement during the May 2019 UN Security Council open debate on the protection of civilians in Armed Conflict1 and in the first informal consultations on the Declaration in November 2019, Argentina delivered a joint statement with seven other Latin American and Caribbean states. In this statement, states delineated key elements of a Political Declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas including: acknowledgement of the likely humanitarian consequences of the use of explosive weapons of wide area effects in populated areas; a commitment to avoid use of such weapons in populated areas and to develop military operational policies and procedures in this regard and identify, develop and exchange best practices; promote greater compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law; commit states to enable secure and sustainable humanitarian access; recognise the rights of victims and affected communities; encourage collection of disaggregated data; strengthen cooperation and partnerships with international organisations and civil society organisations to draw upon their relevant expertise and support.2
Argentina also delivered several individual statements during the consultations towards a Political Declaration3, in which it welcomed references to the Safe Schools Declaration as well as the inclusion of hospitals and places of worship in the draft Political Declaration text. In particular, Argentina emphasised the long-term and reverberating effects of explosive weapons use on civilians, and encouraged the recognition of a strong link between explosive weapons use and human rights violations. It also agreed with civil society and many other states that caveats such as “can” or “could” when referring to the effects of explosive weapons in populated areas on civilians should be avoided. When endorsing the the Declaration, Argentina emphasised that the Political Declaration is both a fundamental step and also an urgent call to action, and welcomed the inclusion of promotion of respect for IHL and human rights, as well as the differentiated impact on women and children, in the final text.4
Statements and positions
Argentina first acknowledged the harm of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in a statement during the 2015 UN Security Council open debate on children and armed conflict, in which it recognised the catastrophic impact of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas on civilians, particularly children.5 Since then, Argentina has several times raised the issue of explosive weapons use in international forums including in December 2018 at the Annual Meeting of High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons where it condemned the alarming prevalence of harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure, and at the 2022 UN Security Council Debate on the Protection of Civilians, where it stressed there is an urgent need for parties to conflict to avoid the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas. 6
Alongside its individual statements, Argentina has repeatedly aligned with other states to deliver statements on explosive weapons in populated areas. Alongside 22 other Latin American and Caribbean states, Argentina participated in the Santiago Regional Meeting on Protecting Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas in 2018, resulting in the Santiago Communiqué in which the participating states agreed to take further action on the issue.7 In October 2018, Argentina was one of 50 states to endorse a joint statement on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas at the UN General Assembly First Committee, calling attention to the devastating and long-lasting humanitarian impacts of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and urging states to reverse the trend of high levels of civilian harm8, and the following year endorsed a similar statement to First Committee that encouraged states to participate in the creation of an international Political Declaration.9