Qatar 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.
Qatar submitted a written contribution to the consultations in 2020 suggesting that the Declaration: focus on the issue of explosive weapons in populated areas rather than urban warfare or protection of civilians more broadly; recognise the relationship between the large-scale effects of explosive weapons and the risk of harm to civilians; highlight the indirect effects of explosive weapons in populated areas, while recognizing that damage to vital infrastructure may disrupt basic services and ultimately affect a large portion of the civilian population; and contain a clear and express commitment to avoid the use of explosive weapons of large-scale effects in populated areas. It also suggested that the Declaration oblige states to take measures through political obligations and good practices to enhance the protection of civilians against the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, and that the Declaration establish a mechanism to monitor its implementation.1
Qatar is also a member of the Arab Group, which participated in the round of consultations that took place in 2021 in Geneva.2 There, the Arab Group emphasised that existing international humanitarian law (IHL) rules and principles must be applied, and expressed concern that explosive weapons could be stigmatised by the Declaration. It also noted that the Declaration draft overlooked the use of human shields, and that a number of terms - namely “populated areas”, “reverberating effects” and “critical civilian infrastructure” lacked agreed definitions.3
Statements and positions
Qatar has also addressed the issue of explosive weapons in populated areas in multilateral forums, aligning with other states to deliver statements. At sessions of the UN Security Council open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict in 2013, Qatar delivered the statement of the Arab Group, saying states need to “do more to compel parties to conflict to refrain from using explosive weapons in densely populated areas”.4
As a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Qatar 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.”6