Meeting Register Page

Wars in cities: controlling the use of heavy explosives

Armed conflicts are often fought in populated areas with explosive weapons designed for use in open battlefields. With their wide-area effects, these weapons wreak harm on civilians and disrupt essential services. A diplomatic process led by Ireland aims to secure the adoption of a political declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas that provides clear political commitments on civilians’ protection.

Experts will discuss African states’ role in the diplomatic process. Speakers will consider the humanitarian consequences of deploying these weapons and how governments should curtail them. The seminar will also cover the use of illegal explosives by criminal syndicates in South Africa for armed robberies and illegal mining.

Chair: Gugu Dube, Researcher, ENACT, ISS Pretoria

Speakers:

Eirini Giorgou, Legal Advisor, ICRC
Laura Boillot, Coordinator, International Network on Explosive Weapons
Willem Els, Senior Training Coordinator, ENACT, ISS Pretoria

This seminar is co-hosted by ENACT and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). ENACT is implemented by the Institute for Security Studies and INTERPOL, in affiliation with the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime. The ISS is also grateful for support from the members of the ISS Partnership Forum: the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the European Union, the Open Society Foundations and the governments of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the USA.

Mar 25, 2021 03:00 PM in Johannesburg