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Gambia

HAS NOT ENDORSED THE POLITICAL DECLARATION

The Gambia has not yet endorsed the Political Declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. However, it has acknowledged the harm caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.1

Statements and positions

The Gambia has aligned with other states to deliver statements that have mentioned the issue of explosive weapons in populated areas. At the 2024 informal meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), and in a Working Paper submitted to the meeting, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (IOC), of which The Gambia is a member, highlighted Israel’s use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas in the Gaza strip, “resulting in the killing 45,000 civilians and injuries to over 85,000 civilians, including a significant number of children and women.” The IOC also emphasised the approximately 39 tons of rubble in Gaza and concerns for a large quantity of unexploded ordnance.2 At the 2021 CCW meeting, the African Group, of which the Gambia is a member, reiterated its deep concern for the continued threats posed by landmines, explosive remnants of war and Improvised Explosive Devices, “including the devastating consequences they have on civilians, post-conflict reconstruction, integration efforts and socio-economic development”, as set out in a communique from the Peace and Security Council of the African Union.3

At the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2023, the Non-Aligned Movement, of which The Gambia is a member, condemned the indiscriminate shelling and bombing of Palestinian civilian areas.4

As a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, The Gambia 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.”5

  1. INEW https://www.inew.org/states/gambia/
  2. Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects: Working Paper, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, 15 November 2024, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/ccw/2024/hcp/statements/14Nov_OIC.pdf
  3. Sixth Review Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects Geneva, 13-17 December 2021, African Group, 13 December 2021, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/ccw/2021/RevCon/statements/14Dec_AfricanGroup.pdf; Communiqué of the 1032rd meeting of the PSC held on 16 September 2021 on the Continental and Regional Activities in the Area of Mine Action, Peace and Security Council of the African Union, 1 October 2021, https://www.peaceau.org/en/article/communique-of-the-1032rd-meeting-of-the-psc-held-on-16-september-2021-on-the-continental-and-regional-activities-in-the-area-of-mine-action
  4. Statement by Delegation of the Republic of Indonesia on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, First Committee 78th Session United Nations General Assembly, October 2023. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com23/statements/17Oct_NAM.pdf
  5. Agenda for Humanity. ‘Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)’. https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholder/233.html

Other State Positions