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Greece

HAS ENDORSED THE POLITICAL DECLARATION

Greece 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.  Greece regularly delivered statements throughout the consultations towards a Political Declaration, repeatedly voicing its concern about the indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas. In its statements to the 2020 consultations, Greece suggested including the phrase “disproportionate use” as the focus of the Political Declaration. 1 Later in the consultation process, Greece stated that the Declaration should not seek to establish restrictions going beyond existing provisions of international humanitarian law (IHL) and strongly suggested the term “indiscriminate” be included in order to highlight the problem of unlawful use of explosive weapons. It also expressed its preference for the term "indirect effects" instead of "reverberating effects" throughout the text. 2 

Statements and positions

Greece has spoken in multilateral forums in support of the Declaration. At the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2022, Greece highlighted the new Political Declaration’s utility in addressing the impacts of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, 3 and the following year recognised the importance of the Political Declaration, saying it would pave the way to the Oslo Conference in 2024. 4 At the 2024 UN General Assembly First Committee, Greece expressed particular concern for the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and expressed its support and commitment to the Political Declaration. 5 In a working paper submitted to the 2024 Meeting of High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, Greece praised the inclusive nature of the forum. Reflecting over the need to balance military necessity and humanitarian concerns in a rapidly changing (and complex)  battlefield environment, and as military capabilities evolve, it emphasised the need to place prohibitions and clear restrictions on the use of certain types of weapons that are deemed to have indiscriminate effects on civilians, to ensure compliance to IHL and minimise harm to civilians. In this context, Greece highlighted the Political Declaration, stressing that it serves as a “platform to promote the exchange of best practices to minimise harm to civilians”. Furthermore, it stated that by “integrating such initiatives into operational planning, military forces can strengthen their commitment to IHL.” 6 

Alongside its individual statements, Greece has repeatedly aligned with other states to deliver statements on explosive weapons in populated areas. Greece has condemned the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in numerous joint statements, including as a member of the Human Security Network at both the August 2013 UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict 7 and the 2014 UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict. 8 In these statements, the Human Security Network called for all parties to an armed conflict to refrain from using explosive weapons with a wide impact area in populated areas, emphasising that these weapons are indiscriminate within their zones of detonation and therefore pose unacceptable risks to civilians.  

As a member of the European Union (EU), Greece 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 and welcoming the Political Declaration. This includes at several UN Security Council open debates on the protection of civilians in armed conflict 9, including in 2024 when it expressed deep concern about the use and humanitarian consequences of explosive weapons in populated areas ‘which has significant civilian impact and should thus be restricted and avoided’10 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 11, and at the UN General Assembly’s First Committee. 12 Greece also aligned with the World Humanitarian Summit Core Commitments to ‘Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity’ 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.” 13 

  1. Acheson, R. 2020. ‘Impacts, not intentionality: the imperative of focusing on the effects of explosive weapons in a Political Declaration’. Reaching Critical Will. 14 February 2020. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/news/latest-news/14658-impacts-not-intentionality-the-imperative-of-focusing-on-the-effects-of-explosive-weapons-in-a-political-declaration.  

  1. ‘Comments by Greece on the Draft Political Declaration’. Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. 6-9 April 2022. https://www.dfa.ie/media/dfa/ourrolepolicies/peaceandsecurity/submissions6-9april/Greece.pdf.   

  1. Young. K. 2022. ‘First Committee Monitor, Vol.20, No.3’. Reaching Critical Will. 15 October 2022. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/FCM22/FCM-2022-No3.pdf.  

  1. ‘Greece Statement to the UN General Assembly 78th Session First Committee General Debate’. Permanent Mission of Greece to the United Nations. 4 October 2023. https://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com23/statements/4Oct_Greece.pdf.    

  1. ‘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 submitted by Greece’, 14 November 2024, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/ccw/2024/hcp/statements/14Nov_Greece.pdf.  

  1. ‘First Committee of 79th UNGA – Thematic discussion IV Conventional Weapons Statement of Greece’ 24 October 2024, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com24/statements/24Oct_Greece.pdf.  

  1. United Nations Security Council. S/PV.7019. 19 August 2013.  https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7019.  

  1. United Nations Security Council. S/PV.7109. 12 February 2014. https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.7109.  

  1. EU Statement – UN Security Council: Protection of Civilians.’ Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations. 21 May 2024. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/un-new-york/eu-statement-%E2%80%93-un-security-council-protection-civilians_en?s=63; ‘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.  

  1. ‘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. ‘EU Statement to the UN General Assembly 80th Session First Committee Thematic Discussion on Conventional Weapons’. Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations. 23 October 2025. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com25/statements/23Oct_EU.pdf; ‘EU Statement to the UN General Assembly 78th Session First Committee Thematic Discussion on Conventional Weapons’. Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations. 23 October 2023. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com23/statements/23Oct_EU.pdf; ‘EU Statement to the UN General Assembly 77th Session First Committee Thematic Discussion on Conventional Weapons’. Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations. 20 October 2022. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com22/statements/20Oct_EU.pdf; ‘EU Statement to the UN General Assembly 76th Session First Committee Thematic Discussion on Conventional Weapons’. Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations. 4 October 2021.
    https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com21/statements/4Oct_EU.pdf; ‘EU Statement to the UN General Assembly 75th Session First Committee Thematic Discussion on Conventional Weapons’. Permanent Mission of the European Union to the United Nations. 9 October 2020.
    https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com20/statements/9Oct_EU.pdf.

  3. Agenda for Humanity Archives. ‘Greece’. https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholder/182.html. 

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