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Serbia

HAS ENDORSED THE POLITICAL DECLARATION

Serbia was not directly involved in the process to develop a Political Declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. It was, however, among the first group of states to endorse the Political Declaration in Dublin in November 2022. Serbia attended the first international implementation conference on the Political Declaration in Oslo, Norway in April 2024, and the second implementation conference in San Jose, Costa Rica in November 2025.

Statements and positions

Serbia endorsed the joint statement on explosive weapons in populated areas during the 73rd UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2018. The statement, delivered by Ireland, called 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. 1 Serbia also endorsed the joint statement on explosive weapons in populated areas during the 74th UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2019. 2 The statement, also delivered by Ireland, encouraged states to participate in international efforts to address the impacts of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas on civilians, including by working towards the creation of an international Political Declaration on this issue. 3

As a Candidate Country to the European Union (EU), the Serbia has also aligned with EU 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 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 4 At the UN General Assembly in 2025 Serbia aligned with the EU statement, which recalled the Political Declaration and its “aim to reduce harm and strengthen the protection of civilians” and noted the Costa Rica conference offered an opportunity to “translate the Declaration into concrete measures on the ground”. 5

Implementation of the Political Declaration

In February 2024, INEW and EWM conducted a survey into endorser states' national efforts to disseminate and implement the Political Declaration; and in May 2025 EWM conducted a second survey. 6 Responding in 2025, Serbia reported that has embedded coordination for implementation of the Declaration within its existing Mine Action Centre (SMAC), which maintains national databases on contamination, clearance, and victims, and that the Declaration has been nationally disseminated by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It reported that SMAC conducts “training of trainers” courses on explosive remnants of war to enhance community-level risk education and will suggest development of internal training or doctrine aligned with the policy commitments in the Declaration to relevant national stakeholders, in particular ministries and the military. 7

  1. ‘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.

  2. ‘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. ‘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.

  4. ‘EU statement – UN Security Council: War in Cities’. 25 January 2022. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/un-new-york/eu-statement-%E2%80%93-un-security-council-war-cities_en.

  5. ‘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.

  6. To view all responses to the state surveys, see the Explosive Weapons Monitor 2023, Chapter III on Universalisation and Implementation of the Political Declaration and EWMs Assessment of Implementation of the Declaration (2025).

  7. EWM. ‘An Assessment of Implementation of the Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas: Briefing Paper’. November 2025. https://explosiveweaponsmonitor.org/reports/8/an-assessment-of-implementation-of-the-political-declaration/; and Serbia’s response to INEW’s State Survey on the Implementation of the Political Declaration, July 2025. 

Other State Positions