Switzerland 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. At the endorsing conference in Dublin, Switzerland noted that the principal purpose of IHL – to limit the effects of armed conflict – must always guide states in their actions, and expressed hope that improved data collection and sharing will help to avoid future civilian harm1.
Switzerland regularly delivered statements throughout the consultations towards a Political Declaration, as well as raising concerns around explosive weapons in populated areas and expressing support for a Political Declaration in other multilateral forums. Early in the consultation process, Switzerland emphasised that the declaration should stress that existing IHL provides a sufficient framework to address the problem of explosive weapons in populated areas and that the objective of the declaration should be to strengthen International Humanitarian Law (IHL).2 Switzerland also said that the declaration should address the challenges posed by the urbanisation of violence, where civilians and combatants intermingle, noting that it is often not possible to choose to conduct military operations outside this setting.3 In addition, it supported a call for the adoption and review of policies and practices—including in military doctrines, tactical instructions, rules of engagement, the testing and development of new weapons, education, and other measures—to enhance protection of civilians and compliance with IHL, and called for investigating allegations of use of explosive weapons in populated areas in violation of IHL, and, where appropriate, for the due prosecution of perpetrators4.
As consultations progressed, Switzerland echoed these positions, whilst adding that it believed it would be appropriate to focus the Political Declaration on the conduct of hostilities in urban areas rather than focus on a particular system of weapons.5 It also said that the Declaration should better reflect the role of non-state armed groups and strongly urged that the Declaration not focus only on clear violations of IHL.6 It opposed the use of the qualifier ‘can’ in the title and text 7, and encouraged a broad approach to delineating the humanitarian consequences of explosive weapons in populated areas, including through reflecting reverberating effects.8 It encouraged the inclusion of a commitment on accountability on the Declaration, and also called for an open, transparent, and inclusive follow-up process, stressed the importance of ensuring such a process is adequate to meet the needs of the declaration9.
Switzerland attended the first international follow-up conference on the Political Declaration in Oslo, Norway in April 2024.
Statements and positions
Switzerland has on several occasions spoken on explosive weapons in populated areas in multilateral forums. During the first follow-up Conference on the Political Declaration’s implementation, Switzerland made a short statement during the session on Military Policies and Practices. It highlighted three areas of activities in which the Swiss Armed Forces has been focusing its implementation work, namely training, reviewing and adapting its practices and exchanges of good practices. On the topic of training, Switzerland began by stating that “respect for IHL and the protection of civilians are systematically integrated into” its training programmes. IHL training focused on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas has been “provided to around a hundred senior officers from all branches of the Army.” In addition, urban combat and explosive weapons in populated areas was the main topic of Switzerland’s last annual training course on IHL for legal advisors to the armed forces. IHL has always been an integral part of the Swiss military academy’s curriculum, which includes discussing particular challenges of combat in urban areas. Switzerland also emphasised its work to review and adapt its practices in line with the Declaration’s commitments, explaining that the Declaration had been discussed within its Interdepartmental IHL Committee, with several doctrinal documents and regulations now including references to the Declaration and its commitments. Since 2018, Switzerland’s Article 36 (Additional Protocol 1 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions) obligations to evaluate the legality of new weapons has included considering the challenges associated with the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Finally, Switzerland highlighted the importance of states exchanging good practices, its participation in such exchanges, and welcomed future follow-up conferences10.
Switzerland made reference to the use of explosive weapons in populated areas at the UN Security Council Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in 2010,11 where it said that their use was a “major source of suffering for civilians”. More recently, at the Security Council open debate in May 2023, Switzerland called on states to sign the Political Declaration.12 At the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2024, Switzerland called on states to take concrete action to protect civilians during conflict, and identified the Political Declaration as an “important instrument for achieving this objective”. Switzerland emphasised the importance of implementing the Political Declaration, emphasising the first follow-up conference in Norway, and the second, upcoming conference in Costa Rica, as opportunities to focus on implementation and share good practices. Switzerland also underlined the direct and indirect, long-term and ‘intergenerational’ effects of mines and explosive weapons, not only threatening the lives of millions of civilians but significantly hampering development efforts and the achievement of the sustainable development goals.13 Switzerland has welcomed the final text of the Political Declaration at the UN General Assembly First Committee in 202214 and, at the General Debate of the First Committee in 2017, had called for anchoring the issue of explosive weapons in populated areas in the agenda of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).15 During the Meeting of the High Contrating Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, Switzerland expressed concern about the ongoing use of explosive weapons in populated areas16.
Alongside its individual statements, Switzerland has repeatedly aligned with other states to deliver statements on explosive weapons in populated areas. As a member of the Group of Friends on Protection of Civilians, Switzerland has supported statements at the UN Security Council stressing the importance of respecting IHL and the need to enhance the protection of civilians from the effects of explosive weapons in populated areas.17 At the 2024 debate, the Group highlighted the harm caused by explosive weapons in populated areas across ongoing conflicts, and stressed that “the effective protection of civilians and civilian objects must be made a strategic priority in the planning and conduct of military operations.” To that end, the Political Declaration was identified as providing “practical tools that ensure that protection is real and effective.”18 The Group of Friends of Action on Conflict and Hunger, of which Switzerland is also a member, 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, Switzerland 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 harm20.
As part of the Human Security Network, Switzerland endorsed two statements addressing the risk of explosive weapons in populated areas at the UN Security Council open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict in 201321 and 2014.22 The statements called for data collection and to refrain from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Switzerland also aligned with the World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitments to ‘Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity’ 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”23.
Implementation of the Political Declaration
In February 2024, INEW and EWM conducted a state survey into endorser states' national efforts to disseminate and implement the Political Declaration. In the survey, Switzerland reported that it has disseminated the Political Declaration to various governmental departments and committees, the Government and Parliament, including its Foreign Affairs and Security Committees, and governmental departments responsible for Defence, Foreign Affairs and Justice and the Swiss Interdepartmental Committee for International Humanitarian Law24.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport have joint responsibility for the implementation of the Political Declaration, with point people nominated in both; the Deputy Head for International Law and Law of Armed Conflict in the Armed Forces Staff, and a staffer in the Peace and Human Rights Division, respectively25.
Switzerland stated that it had conducted briefings, workshops or trainings on the content of the Political Declaration, and was planning for its domestic implementation. These activities include a comprehensive briefing for its Joint Doctrine Board, responsible for approving all military doctrinal documents and regulations; as well as providing IHL trainers and legal advisors in the armed forces with urban warfare training. EWIPA and challenges with urban warfare have also been taught at the Swiss Military Academy since 201826.
Switzerland reported that since 2018, references to EWIPA have been included in ‘various documents and regulations’, and that its Law of Armed Conflict Office has formulated binding requirements for training on explosive weapons and their future use. The office, which is responsible for legal reviews of weapons, has since 2018 highlighted the ‘challenges with EWIPA in every evaluation of an explosive weapon’27.
Switzerland identified a number of policies, practices, laws or doctrines that could be used to implement the Declaration’s commitments, including its compulsory weapons review processes. It also suggested that advice from its National Committees for the implementation of international humanitarian law, integrating EWIPA into practical Armed Forces exercises, and reviews of all doctrinal documents and regulations by an authority familiar with the EWIPA subject matter could aid implementation28.
Beyond this, Switzerland emphasised its efforts to promote the issue and encourage universalisation in multilateral fora, the priority it has given to civilian protection at the UN Security Council, and its support for organisations focused on the promotion of IHL, victim assistance, and data collection on impact29.
To view all of Switzerland's responses to the INEW and EWM state survey, and other states’ responses, see the Explosive Weapons Monitor 2023, Chapter III on Universalisation and Implementation of the Political Declaration.