Austria was actively involved in the process to develop a Political Declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, having been instrumental in raising the issue of use of explosive weapons in populated areas in multiple forums and initiating the process towards a Political Declaration through the Vienna Conference on the Protection of Civilians in Urban Warfare.1 Austria was among the first group of states to endorse the Political Declaration in Dublin in November 2022.
Austria offered written comments on each proposed draft of the Political Declaration and delivered multiple statements during the 2019 to 2022 consultation process as well as during the signing ceremony in November 20222. In November 2019 Austria delineated elements it believed should be present in a Political Declaration including: respect existing obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL) when using explosive weapons in populated areas; adopt and review for this purpose military policies and practices that will enhance the protection of civilians; implement, review, and where needed, develop or improve national policy and practice, including doctrine and rules of engagement and identify, share and support the implementation of good policy and practices; train armed forces and conduct exercises on the protection of civilians from the use explosive weapons in populated areas and urban warfare in general; collect or support the collection of reliable and relevant data, including disaggregated data, on civilian harm; provide assistance to victims; investigate and prosecute violations of applicable national and international law in the use of explosive weapons in populated areas; raise awareness of the humanitarian concern caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and urban warfare in general; promote the Political Declaration; meet on a regular basis, inviting also relevant international organisations and civil society, to review the implementation of the Political Declaration.”2
Throughout its engagement in the consultation process, Austria repeatedly emphasised the need for the Political Declaration to accurately reflect humanitarian impacts of use of explosive weapons in populated areas, particularly where those weapons have wide area effects and/or there is a strong likelihood of indiscriminate effects. Austria argued that as part of this recognition, the declaration should address indirect, long-term, and reverberating effects of explosive weapons in populated areas, such as displacement, disruption of essential services, increased poverty, destruction of the environment, contamination through explosive remnants of war, psychological trauma, disabilities, and similar issues. Austria also argued that there should be a focus on promoting existing IHL (IHL), as strengthening compliance with IHL would be useful to effectively regulate the use of explosive weapons in populated areas without needing to create new obligations. Austria also called for the provision of timely and adequate victim assistance in a non-discriminatory manner, the consideration of non-state actors in the declaration, and the investigation of allegations of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas that is in violation of IHL, and, where appropriate, for the due prosecution of perpetrators.3
During the consultations, Austria expressed support for the inclusion of “reverberating effects” in the text and acknowledgement of the multifaceted nature of the effects caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, and emphasised the importance of ensuring that the Political Declaration enhances compliance with IHL through political commitment and practical measures as well as a meaningful, transparent and inclusive follow-up process that includes all relevant stakeholders.4 Austria also emphasised the importance of data collection, particularly disaggregated data collection, to more clearly represent the realities of explosive weapons in populated areas use.5 Austria also welcomed that the final declaration proposes language going beyond the simple reaffirmation of the needs for states to abide by existing international law and included the commitment to ensure that armed forces adopt and implement a range of policies and practices to avoid civilian harm by restricting or refraining as appropriate from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.6 At the signing ceremony in November 2022, Austria said that the Political Declaration follows a clear humanitarian imperative to prevent and to reduce civilian harm from explosive weapons, and that its effective implementation will require structured cooperation at global, regional and sub-regional level, in addition to the active involvement of humanitarian actors of affected communities and civil society and the military.7
Statements and positions
Austria has frequently spoken on explosive weapons in populated areas in multilateral forums, including at the UN Security Council open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict,8 where it has primarily focused on raising awareness of the devastating humanitarian consequences of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas on civilians and to bring attention to the urgent need to end the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. At the UN Security Council open debate on children and armed conflict on 5 July 2023, Austria said it was “appalled by the growing number of verified grave violations. The overall increase in attacks against schools, hospitals and protected personnel, as well as the denial of humanitarian assistance and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, is truly horrifying.”9 During the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2021, Austria delivered a statement reiterating concern over these devastating humanitarian consequences and noting its strong support and continued engagement in the process toward a Political Declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas 10. At the same meeting in 2022, Austria made clear that it is “strongly committed to the implementation of the Declaration together with all relevant stakeholders, states, UN entities, the International Committee of the Red Cross, international and regional organisations, humanitarian actors, survivors and civil society, to ensure that the measures foreseen will effectively be implemented without delay in order save lives and reduce civilian harm.”11 Austria has also expressed similar positions at the UN Security Council open debate on children and armed conflict, the Meeting of High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, the 2022 UN Security Council open debate on war in cities and the World Humanitarian Summit Roundtable on Upholding the Norms that Safeguard Humanity (May 2016).
Since signing the Political Declaration, Austria has repeatedly called for states to join the declaration and said it looks forward to working together with all stakeholders on its effective implementation – during the UN General Assembly First Committee in 202312, where it also announced it will host a workshop for effective implementation of the declaration in January 2024 in Vienna13, and during the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict on 23 May 2023.
Alongside its individual statements, Austria has repeatedly aligned with other states to deliver statements on explosive weapons in populated areas. As a member of the European Union (EU), Austria has signed onto numerous joint statements condemning the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and the harms it causes to civilians and civilian objects, as well as calling for greater IHL compliance. This includes at several UN Security Council open debates on the protection of civilians in armed conflict 14 and at the General Debates of UN General Assembly First Committee15, as well as at the 2022 UN Security Council open debate on War in Cities where the EU expressed concern over the indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in populated areas, including near hospitals, schools, and universities.16 The EU, with Austria signing on, has also repeatedly welcomed the Political Declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas – at the 2022 Dublin Conference, the 2022 and 2023 UN General Assembly First Committee, and at the 2023 UN Security Council open debate on the Protection of Civilians. Austria also aligned with the World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitments to ‘Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity’ as an EU member state in May 2016. This included 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.” 17
As a member of the Group of Friends on Protection of Civilians, Austria has supported statements at the UN Security Council stressing the importance of respecting IHL and the need to enhance the protection of civilians 18, and as a member of the Group of Friends of Action on Conflict and Hunger, strongly welcomed the Political Declaration, called on other states to join it, and said that the Oslo Conference will provide a critical opportunity to make progress in implementing the Declaration.19 In 2018 and 2019, Austria joined around 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 impact of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and urging states to reverse the trend of high levels of civilian harm.20