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Estonia

HAS NOT ENDORSED THE POLITICAL DECLARATION

Estonia has not yet endorsed the Political Declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. It did not actively participate in the negotiations towards a Political Declaration.

Statements and positions

Estonia has repeatedly aligned with other states to deliver statements on explosive weapons in populated areas. At the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in May 2023, the Group of Friends of Action on Conflict and Hunger, of which Estonia is a member, strongly welcomed the Political Declaration, called on other states to join it, and said that the 2024 Oslo Conference will provide a critical opportunity to make progress in implementing the Declaration.1

As a member of the European Union (EU), Estonia 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 2 and at the General Debate of UN General Assembly First Committee3, 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.4 The EU, with Estonia signing on, has also repeatedly welcomed the Political Declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas – at the 2022 Dublin Conference5, the 2022 and 2023 UN General Assembly First Committee (where it highlighted the work ahead for implementing the Declaration’s commitments)6, and at the 2023 UN Security Council open debate on the Protection of Civilians.7

Estonia aligned with the World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitments to ‘Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity’ in its capacity 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.”8

  1. United Nations Security Council. S/PV.9327. 23 May 2023. Available from: https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.9327(Resumption1).
  2. ‘EU Statement during the May 2011 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’. Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations. 10 May 2011. http://www.peacewomen.org/sites/default/files/eu_poc_11may2011_0.pdf; ‘EU Statement during the June 2012 Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’. Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations. 25 June 2012. http://www.peacewomen.org/security-council/security-council-open-debate-protection-civilians-armed-conflict-june-2012/; ‘EU Statement during the August 2013 UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’. Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations. 19 August 2013. http://www.peacewomen.org/sites/default/files/european_union_poc_august_2013_debate_0.pdf.
  3. ‘EU Statement to the UN General Assembly 72nd Session First Committee Thematic Discussion on Conventional Weapons’. Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations. 18 October 2017. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com17/statements/18Oct_EU.pdf.
  1. Acheson, R. 2022. ‘UN Security Council Debates War in Cities and the Protection of Civilians.’ Reaching Critical Will, 28 January 2022. https://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/news/latest-news/16009-un-security-council-debates-war-in-cities-and-the-protection-of-civilians.
  2. Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. ‘Watch Back Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas – Dublin Conference – Morning Session.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2VpYQzoKyo.
  3. Young, K. 2022. ‘First Committee Monitor, Vol.20, No.2’. Reaching Critical Will. 8 October 2022. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/FCM22/FCM-2022-No2.pdf; ‘Statement on Conventional Weapons’. European Union. 23 October 2023. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com23/statements/23Oct_EU.pdf.
  4. United Nations Security Council. S/PV.9327. 23 May 2023. Available from: https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.9327(Resumption1).
  5. Agenda for Humanity Archives, ‘Estonia’. https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholders/commitments/158.html.

Other State Positions