Second International Conference
18 - 20 November 2025
San Jose Conference
Second international conference
of the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas
Addressing the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) remains one of the most pressing contemporary humanitarian challenges. As armed conflicts continue to be waged around the world, marked by an increasing and extensive use of EWIPA leading to devastating humanitarian harm, suffering, destruction and long-term socio-economic repercussions, it now falls on the international community to redouble its commitment to strengthen the protection of civilians through dialogue, cooperation, and the shared goal to reduce the human cost of weapons.
AIMS OF THE CONFERENCE
Foster and promote global universalization, both in the region and globally, as well as to serve as an important occasion for non-endorsing States to announce their formal endorsement and grow support for the Declaration.
Review and advance implementation efforts with a focus on responding to the reality of the impacts of EWIPA, fostering dialogue, sharing knowledge and best practice.
Set a roadmap for action leading up to the third international conference and beyond.
PROGRAMME
18 November
Protection Forum 2025 - A Protection Forum will be organised by the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW) in cooperation with FUNPADEM and Seguridad Humana en América Latina y el Caribe (SEHLAC). More information can be found here.
Please indicate your interest in attending the protection forum when registering to the Conference.
19 - 20 November
The San Jose Conference
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
The conference will take place at Hotel Real InterContinental San José.
For all practical information please consult the logistical note, available here.
Sponsorship Programme
A Sponsorship Program to support the participation of State representatives at the Second International Conference of the EWIPA Declaration will be available for countries qualifying as Least Developed Countries (LDC) as well as Small Island Developing States (SID) as per the Official Development Assistance (ODA) and African States.
The Sponsorship Program is administered by UNODA with financial contributions of the Republic of Ireland and Norway.
Interest in sponsorship should be marked during the registration process and must be communicated by 25 September 2025. Selected candidates will be contacted by UNODA directly for all travel arrangements.
Please note that requests for sponsorship received after 25 September 2025 will not be considered.
For more information, please contact ewipa@un.org. For questions on the Protection Forum, please contact info@inew.org.
1211 Geneva 10
SwitzerlandPhone: +41 (0)12 345 5678
E-mail: ewipa@un.org