2017 Platform Meeting: Advancing the Multilateral Agenda on Improvised Explosive Devices

Improvised Explosive Devices

Meeting of the Platform Meeting of the Platform

The 2017 platform meeting will follow-up on the 2016 platform meeting and focus on outlining tangible next steps for states and others towards implementing concrete multilateral actions, and enabled experts to discuss what is and is not both feasible and desirable.

The objectives are:

  • To raise issues of debate surrounding the 2016 UNGA resolution on IEDs (A/RES/71/72) and the upcoming UNGA resolutions on the same issue
  • To debate the UN Secretary General’s 2016 report on IEDs (SG A/71/187) and address what recommendations of that report have yet to be implemented/and why
  • To discuss what constructive steps have been taken in relation to key elements of the UNGA resolutions on IEDs, including the establishment of an online hub providing impartial, authoritative information to address the issue of IEDs by the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs; the development of the voluntary self-assessment tool to assist states in identifying gaps and challenges in their national regulation and preparedness regarding IEDs, and the contribution of other (civil society) initiatives.

About the IEDs Platform

In 2015, the Geneva Academy established a platform to address the thread, use and consequences of the worldwide employment of IEDs, and to advance the international agenda for countering them.

Partners include the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and Action on Armed Violence (AOAV). An expert form Chatham House has also been participating, since the inception of the platform, in conceptualizing its substance.

This platform is designed to bring together, via annual meetings, policymakers and practitioners from governments, international organizations, NGOs, the military, law enforcement and academia.

The objective is to lead informal discussions for future international action to address IEDs and their impact, building on the ‘Food for Thought’ paper circulated by the Co-Coordinators on IEDs of the Informal Group of Experts under Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), as well as other existing resources.The platform also aims at acting as a bridge builder between Geneva and New-York (Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and UN General Assembly) and between all UN agencies active in countering IEDs.

Annual meetings of the platform are conducted under Villa Moynier Rules – more restrictive than the Chatham House Rule – to allow full cooperation and a higher degree of informality and interactivity among participants.

About IEDs

IEDs represent an increasing threat. According to AOAV data, 7,223 IED attacks occurred in the last six years (2011–2016), which caused at least 124,317 deaths and injuries. Of the dead and injured, 100,696 (81 percent) were civilians.

Meanwhile, the impact on the stability and robustness of affected states is also a matter of serious concern, notably in relation to the impact on security, particularly regional security, and its linkages to cross-border trafficking and terrorist networks.

The use of IEDs is also a direct threat to the credibility of public institutions, and can lead to a lack of confidence and increased insecurity in already fragile states. In addition, IED use has a direct impact on the capacity to conduct peace and stability operations, as well as humanitarian response and development efforts.

Until the adoption in 2015 of the first UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on the issue, there was no comprehensive international text (resolution or other) addressing all the particularities of IEDs.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

Portrait of Yosuke Nagai News

Our New Visiting Fellow: Yosuke Nagai

16 January 2023

Dr Yosuke Nagai is the founder and CEO of Accept International, which works on de-radicalization and reintegration for defectors and prisoners formerly involved with violent extremist groups. He just started as Visiting Fellow at the Geneva Academy and will stay with us until the end of March.

Read more

Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky, Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt present his annual report and reports on his missions to China and Greece at the 31st regular session of the Human Rights Council. 7 March 2016 News

New Expert Pool Will Strengthen the Capacity of Human Rights Mechanisms to Incorporate IHL into Their Work

29 September 2022

As part of this new IHL-EP, the Geneva Academy requested to intervene as a third party in the proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights concerning the case of Ukraine v. Russia (X).

Read more

Portrait of Magistrate Roberto Vidal Event

Taking Stock of Five Years of Work at the Special Jurisdiction for Peace: Challenges and Achievements

31 March 2023, 18:30-20:00

In this discussion co-organized with the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the UN in Geneva, the President of Colombia's Special Jurisdiction for Peace Magistrate Roberto Vidal will discuss the challenges and achievements of this body.

Read more

An explosion from an air bomb in the center of the city of Kharkov, the metro station Constitution Square, March 2022 Event

Special Tribunal for Aggression: Worth the Risk(s)?

29 March 2023, 18:30-20:00

This IHL Talk will explore various issues related to the potential establishment of a 'Special Tribunal for Aggression' and will discuss whether it is the best or most appropriate option to make sure that the crime of aggression does not go unpunished.

Read more

Syria, Harasta, destroyed buildings Training

Advanced IHL Seminar for Academics and Policymakers

28 August - 1 September 2023

Organized by the Geneva Academy and the ICRC, the Advanced IHL seminar for academics and humanitarian policymakers aims to enhance the capacity of academics to teach and research IHL and contemporary issues arising during armed conflict, while also equipping policymakers with an in-depth understanding of ongoing legal debates and their relevance to decision-making.

Read more

Yemen,  Sana'a, Faj Attan district. Destruction. Short Course

From Use of Force to Responsibility to Protect

24 May - 6 June 2023

This online short course provides an overview of the content and evolution of the rules governing the use of unilateral force in international law, including military intervention on humanitarian grounds and the fight against international terrorism. It focuses on the practice of states and international organizations.

Read more

A session of the UN Human Rights Council Project

IHL Expert Pool

Started in January 2022

The IHL-EP works to strengthen the capacity of human rights mechanisms to incorporate IHL into their work in an efficacious and comprehensive manner. By so doing, it aims to address the normative and practical challenges that human rights bodies encounter when dealing with cases in which IHL applies.

Read more

Computer screen with warning: civilian infrastucture: do not attack Project

Digitalization of Conflict Joint Initiative: Humanitarian Impact and Legal Protection

Started in September 2020

This project will explore humanitarian consequences and protection needs caused by the digitalization of armed conflicts and the extent to which these needs are addressed by international law, especially international humanitarian law.

Read more

Cover page of the study Publication

From Words to Deeds A Study of Armed Non-State Actors’ Practice and Interpretation of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Norms: Research and Policy Conclusions

published on September 2022

Annyssa Bellal, Pascal Bongard, Ezequiel Heffes

Read more