A new briefing from the Explosive Weapons Monitor takes stock of how states are implementing the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas.

The paper highlights the urgent need for progress. In 2024, explosive weapons were used in more than 70 countries and territories, causing tens of thousands of civilian deaths and injuries, destroying homes, hospitals, schools, and other vital services, and leaving neighbourhoods uninhabitable. These patterns confirm a consistent global reality: when explosive weapons are used in populated areas, civilians pay the highest price.

Three years after the Declaration’s adoption, the review finds that most endorsing states have taken initial steps—such as designating focal points, sharing the Declaration nationally, and beginning internal reviews of policy and doctrine. However, concrete, EWIPA-specific changes to military practice remain limited, and coordination between ministries and armed forces is often incomplete. Many states still frame implementation in terms of general adherence to international humanitarian law, rather than addressing the Declaration’s specific commitments to reduce and prevent civilian harm.

Some states are beginning to move further, including developing new policies, introducing restrictions on the use of wide-area-effect explosive weapons in populated areas, and strengthening targeting procedures and training. Yet these remain early examples, and overall progress remains uneven. Data collection and sharing—crucial for understanding and reducing civilian harm—is one of the least developed areas of implementation. Victim assistance and long-term community recovery also require more focused attention.

The briefing stresses that implementation is advancing, but much more is required to turn political commitments into concrete change. Strengthening national coordination, updating policy and doctrine, building civilian harm-tracking systems, and investing in victim assistance are essential to ensuring the Declaration fulfils its humanitarian promise.

As conflicts around the world continue to devastate civilian populations, the need for meaningful, EWIPA-specific implementation has never been more urgent.

An Assessment of Implementation of the Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas.