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Monaco

HAS ENDORSED THE POLITICAL DECLARATION

Monaco was not directly involved in the process to develop a Political Declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, though it attended the 2020 consultation in Geneva. 1 It was, however, among the first group of states to endorse the Political Declaration in Dublin in November 2022. Monaco attended the first international follow-up conference on the Political Declaration in Oslo, Norway in April 2024. 

Statements and positions

In 2018 and 2019, Monaco 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. 2  

Monaco 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.” 3 

Monaco has also aligned with several statements delivered by the European Union (EU) on the issue of explosive weapons in populated areas, including  at the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2025, where the EU recalled the importance of the political declaration, as well as its aim to reduce civilian harm and protect civilians, and during the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2023, in which the EU welcomed the Political Declaration and highlighted the importance of its adoption. 4 At the 2024 UN Security Council open debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, the EU stated that given the significant impact of the explosive weapons in populated areas its use should be restricted or avoided. 5 

  1. ‘More than 70 States Engage in Discussions on Political Declaration’. INEW. 10 February 2020. https://www.inew.org/more-than-70-states-engage-in-discussions-on-political-declaration/.

  2. ‘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. 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. https://www.inew.org/seventy-one-states-call-for-action-on-impact-of-explosive-weapons-in-joint-statement-to-un-general-assembly/.

  3. Agenda for Humanity. ‘Monaco’. https://agendaforhumanity.org/stakeholders/commitments/338.html.

  4. ‘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. 23 October 2023. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com23/statements/23Oct_EU.pdf. 

  5. 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. 

Other State Positions