First international follow-up conference

Oslo, Norway

22 - 24 April 2024

Oslo Conference 2024

Registration is now closed

Conference documents

Troika Outcome Statement

Chair's Summary

Conference Programme

Working Papers

Article 36 and Airwars: Military Workshop Report
Austria: Vienna Military Workshop Report
ICRC: Recommendations to the Oslo Conference: AR / EN / ES / FR
ICRC: Recommendation on preventing and mitigating the indirect effects on essential services from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas
UNIDIR and Explosive Weapons Monitor: Strengthening the collection of data on the indirect or reverberating effects of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas
United States: Official documents related to the implementation of international humanitarian law and civilian harm mitigation and response
UNODA: Regional Workshop Report

Statements and Presentations

Session Presentations

Opening Session

Andreas Kravik, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Norway)
H.E. Noel White (Ireland)
Mélanie Regimbal (UNODA) Joint UN Statement
Radhya al-Mutawakel (INEW)

Session 1: Military Policies and Practices

Rear Admiral Bjørn-Erik Marthinsen (Norway)
Arnold Kammel (Austria)
Dan E. Stigall (United States)
Laura Boillot (Article 36)

Session 3: Assisting Conflict Affected Communities

Hazel de Wet (UNICEF)

Closing Session

Alejandro Solano Ortiz (Costa Rica)
Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Minister of International Development (Norway)
Juliana Helou van der Berg (UNODA)

Statements

Session 1: Military Policies and Practices

Session 2: Understanding Direct and Indirect Effects

Session 3: Assisting Conflict-Affected Communities

Taking the Political Declaration forward

The Oslo conference will bring together senior State officials and experts from ministries of defence and foreign affairs, armed forces as well as international and regional organisations, civil society, private sector, and academia.

The aim of the conference is to take stock of the Declaration’s implementation, to discuss progress, opportunities and challenges, and the future follow-up of the Declaration as well as to provide a space to discuss the central commitments of the Declaration, and building a shared understanding of the priority areas and key issues in implementing the Declaration, including different regional experiences and approaches.

Another key aim is to foster cooperation between States and other participants to promote the awareness of the Declaration and to ensure that it gains more support and attention in the years to come. As such the conference will be a key opportunity for States that have not yet endorsed the Declaration to announce their formal endorsement in the leadup to, or during the Oslo conference.

Programme

April 22

Protection Forum 2024

The International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW) and the Norwegian Red Cross will co-host a Protection Forum from 12:00-16:00 CET.

Protection Forum Programme
All further relevant information can be found here.

Official Welcome Reception - Organized by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs -

All participants of the Oslo Conference are invited to attend the opening reception at Akershus fortress (Høymagasinet in Myntgata 7) on Monday 22 April from 19:00 – 21:00.

The reception venue is a 20-minute walk from the conference venue. There will also be buses to transport delegates to and from the reception venue, departing at 18:45 from the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel to Høymagasinet. A valid badge is required to enter the conference reception. All badges must be collected at the registration desk at the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel before the reception (information on badges can be found below).

April 23

The Oslo Conference

The conference will take place at the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel in Oslo, Norway.

Official Programme

Speakers

Opening session

The session will consist of introductory remarks by high-level participants, and other key actors, focusing on the continued relevance of the Declaration and the humanitarian impacts of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, including lived experiences and testimonies from relevant contexts. The opening session will set the stage for the Conference by highlighting the urgent need to strengthen the protection of civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

Session 1: Military Policies and Practices

The session will focus on the commitments in the Declaration pertaining to the adoption, review and implementation of policies and practices by states aimed at strengthening the protection of civilians and avoiding civilian harm (primarily commitments 3.1.–3.4.). Participants will have the opportunity to share examples of steps being taken at the national level to review and revise existing policies and practices, or to adopt new ones, and will share lessons learned and good practices that support the implementation of the Declaration. This may include relevant operational experiences, from both states and humanitarian organisations, and measures undertaken to prevent and mitigate civilian harm, as well as the development of rules of engagement, operational or tactical directives, and other policy initiatives relevant to the Declaration. The session will also be an opportunity to provide information about meetings and workshops with military experts held since the endorsing ceremony in Dublin in 2022.

Session 2: Understanding direct and indirect effects

The session will focus on the direct and indirect effects arising from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, and the centrality of data collection in understanding these effects (primarily commitments 3.4., 4.2.–4.3.). The aim is to initiate a discussion on how direct and indirect effects are understood, what the long-term consequences might be, and how this can be factored into the planning and execution of military operations. The session will look at approaches to establishing mechanisms to collect data on civilian harm from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. It will also provide an arena for sharing findings from recent data collection efforts and elaborating on how mechanisms of data collection can be used to improve the tracking of and responses to civilian harm. The session will also address opportunities and challenges relating to the sharing of data on direct and indirect effects.

Session 3: Assisting conflict-affected communities

The session will present the perspectives of communities affected by explosive weapons in populated areas and focus on the humanitarian-centred aspects of the Declaration (primarily commitments 3.5., 4.4., 4.5. and 4.6). The discussion will centre on the different types of assistance needed by affected communities, both during and after conflict, and steps that can be taken to protect civilians and facilitate and maintain humanitarian access. It will also emphasise the importance of supporting the work of humanitarian organisations in providing assistance and protection, including clearance of contaminated areas, risk education and victim assistance, and call attention to the gendered impacts of explosive weapons. Conflict-affected countries and communities and humanitarian organisations will be encouraged to share their experiences.

Closing session: The way forward and universalisation

The closing session will provide an opportunity to direct attention to the work ahead, discuss efforts to secure broader support for the Declaration and present a set of goals to further strengthen implementation. The Chair’s proposed “Way Forward” outlining suggestions for how to further institutionalise and implement the Declaration will be distributed in advance of the Conference. Norway, as host country, will outline ways of advancing the work relating to the Declaration, with particular focus on commitments 4.7–4.8.

April 24

Thematic Workshops

Civil society organisations, States, UN agencies and the ICRC will organize two thematic workshops on the morning of April 24th that will allow for more in-depth discussion on these central issues.
1) Military policies and practice
2) Humanitarian access and assistance

Thematic Workshops: Agenda
All further relevant information can be found here.

Practical Information

The conference will take place at the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel in Oslo. Endorsing States are invited to register two attendees. Participation by foreign ministry, defence ministry and/or armed forces personnel is encouraged. Non-endorsing States, UN entities and agencies, civil society representatives, academia and private sector actors are encouraged to join and may register up to two attendees.

All participants must register and be approved by the conference organisers. The information and registration desk is located in the lobby of the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel.

Opening times of the registration/information desk:
- 22 April: 9h00-21h00 (9AM - 9PM)
- 23 April: 7h00 - 21h00 (7AM - 9PM)

All information regarding conference badges, accommodation, travel, visa and further practical information for the stay can be found here.

Delegations are encouraged to deliver thematic statements and engage in substantive exchanges during sessions one, two and three. Delegates will be invited up to the stage to deliver their statement after the panel discussions in each session. The time limit for thematic statements is three minutes. To deliver a statement, delegations should send a request to speakers.ewipa@mfa.no before 18 April 2024.

Sponsorship Programme

A Sponsorship Programme to support the participation of State representatives at the first international follow up 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 (EWIPA), is available.

The Sponsorship Programme is administered by the UNODA with the financial contribution of Norway and focuses on States qualifying as Least Developed Countries (LDC), as well as Small Island Developing States (SID), as per the Development Assistance Committee (DAC).

States meeting these criteria are requested to tick this option when registering through the online registration form, and are requireded to present their applications for sponsorship in the form of a Note Verbale and through the below application form to the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) at ewipa@un.org.

- Application for the sponsorship is now closed -