Iran has not yet endorsed the Political Declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (explosive weapons in populated areas).
It did, however, participate in the negotiations towards a Political Declaration: during the consultations in 2019 it called for the Declaration to consider the use of explosive weapons in populated areas by non-state actors1, and in 2020 emphasised that the Declaration should be in line with the UN Charter. Iran’s interventions also focused heavily on the preservation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), emphasising that the Political Declaration must not weaken IHL by being selective in references or abbreviating or restating it. Iran said that the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in cities undermines IHL. It also noted that since not all states are parties to the protocols of the Geneva Conventions, they should not be included in the Political Declaration. Iran argued that the Political Declaration should replace references to the UN Security Council with the UN General Assembly. Iran also called for the Political Declaration to reflect the increase by some states in the use of private military and security companies (PMSCs), noting that this is of grave concern.2
Statements and positions
Iran has spoken on the issue of use of explosive weapons in populated areas in individual and group statements at multilateral forums. At the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2023, Iran referenced explosive weapon use by Israeli armed forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.3 In October 2018, Iran was one of 50 states to endorse the Ireland-led 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 harm.4
As a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Iran 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