Some 75 countries and territories, or a third of the globe, were affected in 2023 by the use of explosive weapons, causing an “unprecedented” level of damage to civilian infrastructure and populations, according to an annual report from Handicap International published Monday. The report highlights that civilians represent 90% of victims of explosive weapons used in cities.
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The number of civilians killed is up 122% compared to 2022, according to the report, which also identifies a very sharp increase in attacks against health infrastructure (763 incidents, +12% in 2023), education (+ 80%) or humanitarian aid.
There war in Gazawhere the Israeli army has been carrying out an offensive for six months in response to the unprecedented attack by Palestinian Hamas on October 7, weighs heavily in the increase in figures, notes the report, taking up data from the World Bank according to which more 60% of housing was destroyed or damaged in the Palestinian territory, one of the most densely populated in the world.
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Nine countries or territories are particularly affected, according to the NGO Handicap International: Lebanon, BurmaPakistan, Palestine, Somalia, SudanSyria, Ukraine, Yemen.
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“ The use of explosive weapons in urban environments has absolutely devastating consequences for civilians », Underlines Gilles Lordet, advocacy communications manager at Handicap International, to Agence France presse. Besides the dead, they cause massive population displacements and have long-term consequences such as soil contamination » by mines or unexploded ordnance, he notes.
The publication of the report comes as an international meeting opens on Monday for three days in Oslo to discuss the implementation of a political declaration of November 2022 aimed at better protecting civilians against the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, since signed by 86 countries, including France. Twenty-eight of them are among the countries affected by the use of explosive weapons, notes Handicap International.
Israel or the Russia are not signatories to this 2022 declaration. States must immediately implement the international agreement to protect civilians from the consequences of the use of explosive weapons. They must put in place concrete policies to alleviate the humanitarian suffering caused by the bombing and shelling of cities. », Declares Alma Taslidzan, advocacy manager at Handicap international, quoted in the report.
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