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Italy

HAS ENDORSED THE POLITICAL DECLARATION

Italy 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. Italy regularly delivered statements throughout the consultations towards a Political Declaration1, 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 Italy highlighted the importance of developing and sharing military policies and good practices – 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 international humanitarian law (IHL).2 Italy also emphasised that International Humanitarian Law (IHL) provides a sufficient framework with which to address the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, but that the challenge lies in implementing IHL in the dynamics of current conflicts, particularly as this relates to the principles of distinction, necessity, proportionality, and precaution.3 

These were repeated themes throughout Italy’s statements to the negotiations during which Italy also called for the inclusion of the destruction of “cultural heritage” within the declaration as one of the harms caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. It also welcomed the inclusion of gender dimensions of harm, supported the strengthening of the victim assistance provision, and called for an open, transparent, and inclusive follow-up process for the Political Declaration.4 During the signing ceremony of the declaration in Dublin in November 2022, Italy said that the implementation of the declaration should reflect a wider notion of protection of civilians, one that is not limited to direct and immediate effects from the use of explosive weapons, but that takes into consideration the damages in medium to long term that compromises life, education and development.5

Statements and positions

Italy has frequently spoken on explosive weapons in populated areas in multilateral forums. Italy condemned the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in a statement at the 2018 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). In the statement, Italy expressed its concern at the grave humanitarian impacts of explosive weapons in populated areas. It also voiced its support for discussions on explosive weapons in populated areas within the auspices of the CCW and called for the continuation of these discussions to facilitate the sharing of military practices and measures to reduce the humanitarian impacts of explosive weapons in populated areas.6 At the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2022, Italy welcomed the conclusion of the negotiations on the Political Declaration7 and in 2023 welcomed its adoption.8

Alongside its individual statements, Italy has repeatedly aligned with other states to deliver statements on explosive weapons in populated areas. As a member of the European Union (EU), Italy 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 9 and at the General Debate of UN General Assembly First Committee10, 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 The EU, with Italy signing on, has also repeatedly welcomed the Political Declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas – at the 2022 Dublin Conference, the 2022 and 2023 UN General Assembly First Committee (where it highlighted the work ahead for implementing the Declaration’s commitments), and at the 2023 UN Security Council open debate on the Protection of Civilians.

Italy 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.” 12

As a member of the Group of Friends on Protection of Civilians, Italy 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 13, and as a member of the Group of Friends of Action on Conflict and Hunger, 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.14 In 2018 and 2019, Italy 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 15.

  1. Reaching Critical Will. ‘Statements – Political Declaration Process’. Available from: https://reachingcriticalwill.org/disarmament-fora/explosive weapons in populated areas/political-declaration/statements.
  2. Reaching Critical Will (2019). ‘Towards a Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas: States Need to Ensure that Expressed Commitments Translate into Real Impacts on the Ground’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/news/latest-news/14451-towards-a-political-declaration-on-the-use-of-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas-states-need-to-ensure-that-expressed-commitments-translate-into-real-impacts-on-the-ground.
  3. Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations (2019). ‘Written Submission’. https://www.dfa.ie/media/dfa/ourrolepolicies/peaceandsecurity/ewipa/Italy-Written-Submission-18-November-2019.pdf.
  4. Ray Acheson, Reaching Critical Will (2021). ‘Report on the March 2021 Consultations on a Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/news/latest-news/15213-report-on-the-march-2021-consultations-on-a-political-declaration-on-the-use-of-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas.
  5. Irish Foreign Ministry (2022). ‘Watch Back -Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas – Dublin Conference – Morning Session’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2VpYQzoKyo.
  6. Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations (2018). ‘Statement to the 2018 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons’. https://italiarappginevra.esteri.it/rappginevra/resource/doc/2018/12/2018_statement_ita_ccw_hcp_emerging_issues.pdf;
  7. Katherine Young (2022). ‘First Committee Monitor, Vol.20, No.4’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/FCM22/FCM-2022-No4.pdf.
  8. Italy (2023.) ‘First Committee of the 78 th UN General Assembly Cluster IV - Conventional Weapons’. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com23/statements/23Oct_Italy.pdf.
  9. ‘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.
  10. ‘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.
  11. 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.
  12. Agenda for Humanity Archives. ‘Italy’. https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholder/207.html.
  13. United Nations Security Council. S/PV.9042. 25 May 2022. Available from: https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.9042;
  14. United Nations Security Council. S/PV.9327. 23 May 2023. Available from: https://undocs.org/en/S/PV.9327(Resumption1).
  15. ‘UNGA73 First Committee Joint Statement on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (explosive weapons in populated areas)’. Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations. 25 October 2018. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com18/statements/25Oct_explosive weapons in populated areas.pdf; ‘UNGA74 First Committee Joint Statement on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas’. Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations. 24 October 2019. Available from: https://article36.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/UNGA74-joint-statement-on-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas.pdf; ‘Seventy-one States call for Action on Impact of Explosive Weapons in Joint Statement to UN General Assembly’. International Network on Explosive Weapons. October 2019. Available from: https://www.inew.org/seventy-one-states-call-for-action-on-impact-of-explosive-weapons-in-joint-statement-to-un-general-assembly/.

Other State Positions