Disarmament in Review
On October 14, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and France, alongside UNMAS and the Conflict Armament Research and Mines Advisory Group, co-hosted a side event entitled “Emerging Threats of IEDs: Insights and Responses”.
The event took place during the 79th United Nations General Assembly First Committee in New York and brought together key stakeholders such as Member States, UN entities, and non-governmental organizations, to share insights on the evolving threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and discuss strategies for IED prevention and threat mitigation.
The General Assembly addressed the threat of improvised explosive devices
Improvised explosive devices remain an evolving, dynamic and multifaceted threat to peace, security and sustainable development. Their use continues to harm civilians, including United Nations personnel, disrupt the provision of humanitarian assistance, and impede the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Against this backdrop, the General Assembly first adopted the resolution on “Countering the threat posed by improvised explosive devices” in 2015 (A/RES/70/46) and again in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2022. This year, a revised version of the resolution, sponsored by Australia, France and Nigeria, is being discussed by the First Committee. The resolution acknowledges the wide-ranging negative impact of IEDs and reflects diverse initiatives and efforts at the national, subregional, regional and global levels aimed at addressing IEDs through various approaches, including disarmament and arms control, counter-terrorism, protection of civilians, humanitarian mine action and trade controls. This year, the co-sponsors, Australia, France and Nigeria tabled a streamlined resolution with updates to reflect new trends and developments.
Acknowledging the important role of the dedicated First Committee resolution on IEDs, Ambassador Camille Petit, Permanent Representative of France to the Conference on Disarmament, opened the side event. She emphasized France’s ongoing commitment to addressing the rise in IED use, particularly in conflict zones and highlighted the importance of international collaboration to prevent the diversion and misuse of IED components.
The UN Secretary-General recommends coordinated action
Claudia Garcia Guiza, Political Affairs Officer at UNODA, presented key observations and recommendations outlined in the 2024 Secretary-General’s report on IEDs. The report highlighted that nearly half of all explosive ordnance casualties in 2023 were caused by IEDs. Of those casualties, 68 per cent were civilians, underlining the devastating impact of IEDs on humanitarian efforts and sustainable development. The report also highlighted the increasing sophistication and expanding use of these devices, driven by greater international knowledge transfer and widespread access to IED components as well as new developments in deployment technologies. Ms. Guiza underscored the need for sustained international attention to address the issue including through the First Committee resolution.
She offered an overview of the recommendations contained in the Secretary-General’s report. For example, Member States are encouraged to strengthen the global architecture for a coordinated, comprehensive and multifaceted approach to addressing the threat and impact of IEDs, including by exploring opportunities to better utilize United Nations processes across relevant humanitarian disarmament, arms control, counter-terrorism and trade control instruments. In line with the New Agenda for Peace, the Secretary-General also advocated for integrated approaches to IEDs that bridge security responses with conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and development efforts. This requires a better understanding of the underlying causes and socioeconomic drivers of the trafficking of components and the use of IEDs. The need for effective international and regional cooperation through the development and implementation of regional and sub-regional strategies was also highlighted.
The threat of IED is evolving
Benjamin Howard from the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) discussed the increased use of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) to deploy IEDs, citing a recent incident in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where UAVs were used to target UN peacekeepers. Mr. Howard called for enhanced detection technologies, jamming systems, and fortified infrastructure to mitigate these new threats.
Robert Hunter Perkins, Head of Research at Conflict Armament Research (CAR), focused on how non-state actors gain access to IED components. He outlined how CAR has traced IED materials back to commercial explosives and repurposed military ammunition stockpiles in conflict zones such as Syria, West Africa, and Afghanistan. Mr. Perkins emphasized the need for supply-chain analysis, stronger pre-transfer risk assessments and better regulation of IED components to stop these materials from reaching non-State armed groups, terrorists, and other unauthorized recipients.
Sebastian Kazakh, representing the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), addressed the humanitarian impact of IEDs. Kazakh shared MAG’s experiences in conflict zones in the Middle East and West Africa, where their work includes clearance of explosive remnants of war, risk education, and victim assistance. He emphasized the urgent need for coordinated humanitarian mine action efforts that are adapted to the complexity of IEDs and improvised landmines to protect civilians and rebuild communities affected by IEDs.
Protecting humanitarian organizations from IEDs
In his intervention, Mr. Kazakh highlighted the essential role of humanitarian organizations in countering IEDs. These organizations on the ground presence grants them unique access to valuable information through interactions with civilians and local institutions, providing essential insight for a nuanced understanding of the threat posed by IEDs. The threat of IED’s is nothing new for the humanitarian assistance sector, but the scale of that threat has changed and moved to more urban environments. The unique position of humanitarian organizations such as MAG must be protected and preserved, to ensure that humanitarian actors can continue their critical contributions without fear of being targeted, he said.
The event concluded with a call for greater international cooperation and the development of national and regional strategies to counter the threat posed by IEDs. Panelists stressed the need for stronger regulations of dual-use chemicals, improved intelligence sharing, and more effective collaboration between governments, international and non-governmental organizations, and local communities. France reiterated its support for these initiatives, calling for urgent and sustained action to reduce the devastating effects of IEDs on civilians and peacekeeping operations alike. As IEDs continue to evolve and become more sophisticated, the international community must act swiftly to strengthen regulations, enhance detection capabilities, and ensure that peacekeeping forces are adequately equipped to respond to this growing threat.
For more information relevant to addressing the issue of IEDs, please visit: https://disarmament.unoda.org/convarms/ieds/
