Malaysia 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. Early in the consultations, Malaysia affirmed the need for the declaration to address the nature of the physical and psychological harm towards human beings, but also the harm on civilian infrastructure, on the environment, and longer-term effects.1 It also stressed the need to reinforce and reaffirm International Humanitarian Law (IHL), as well as to collect better data in order to develop further studies about the impacts of urban warfare. Malaysia argued that the declaration should include non-discriminatory assistance to victims. The country also said that the declaration should not “stigmatise” certain types of weapons and gave support for a follow up mechanism.2 It also underlined the need for the document to reflect the reverberating effects of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.3
As consultations progressed, Malaysia supported the inclusion of provisions regarding long-term environmental challenges and public health risks caused by explosive weapons.4 It also agreed that provisions on victim’s assistance should be strengthened, by better defining its scope and taking into account families and others affected. In a written submission as a response to the proposed draft5, Malaysia added the destruction of agricultural areas and grazing land as actions that aggravate civilian suffering (in addition to the destruction of schools and housing, which were already included in the original draft).
Statements and positions
Malaysia has several times spoken on explosive weapons in populated areas in multilateral forums, including the UN Security Council. At the February and August 2013 Security Council open debates on the protection of civilians in armed conflict Malaysia expressed concern over the high number of civilian casualties from explosive weapons in populated areas6 and called on parties to conflict to “restrict themselves from employing heavy weapons and explosive munitions that have been known to inflict untold misery, deaths and injuries to civilians”.7 At the UN Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict in June 2015, Malaysia recalled that in various countries across the world “children are losing their lives as the result of air strikes and the use of explosive weapons in densely populated settings.”8 At the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2022, Malaysia welcomed the conclusion of the negotiations on the Political Declaration.9 Similarly, at the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2023, Malaysia welcomed the Political Declaration and highlighted the importance of its adoption.10
Alongside its individual statements, Malaysia has repeatedly aligned with other states to deliver statements on explosive weapons in populated areas. In 2018 and 2019, Malaysia joined some 50 and 71 states respectively to endorse joint statements 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.11
In addition, as a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Malaysia aligned with World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitments to ‘Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity.’ 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.”12