Will you add your name to help protect civilians in conflict?

When towns and cities are bombed, it’s always civilians that suffer the most. 9 out of 10 of those killed and injured are civilians.

We must take action to prevent human suffering.

Join us and call on world leaders to sign a new international political agreement to protect the lives of women, girls, men and boys in conflict.

Add your name NOW if you believe everyone has a right to live in safety and free from fear of bombs. Together we have the power to protect civilian lives when world leaders come together on 18 November 2022 to sign a new political agreement limiting the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Now is the time to act. #TimeToDoMore

Our Open Letter to World Leaders

—- Dear World Leaders

We call on you to sign the international political agreement on explosive weapons in populated areas.

When explosive weapons are used in populated areas like towns and cities, civilians suffer the most. Nine in ten people killed or injured are civilians. Even when the fighting has ended, unexploded bombs remain — causing death, injury and suffering for decades to come.

People who survive bombing and shelling in their towns and cities experience long-term psychological trauma. Children are often mentally scarred by the horrors of war.

Schools, houses, playgrounds, and hospitals are destroyed when explosive weapons are used in areas where people live. Children are killed or left without parents. Families are torn apart, and people are forced to flee their homes.

Services that are critical for survival and recovery – such as water, sanitation, transportation and healthcare – are destroyed, depriving people of basic necessities and causing a pattern of long-term suffering.

This agreement has the potential to significantly reduce deaths and the suffering of people impacted by war. It will commit states to limit the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and take steps to address the harm caused to people. It could save lives, and we’re calling on you to sign it.

Sign this agreement and take action to address the devastating physical and psychological harm to people affected by conflict.

The Impact on Families

The impact of explosive weapons in populated areas on families is life-shattering.

Adnan was just nine when a huge bomb landed on his neighbourhood in Syria and left him fighting for his life. But now, an 18-year-old, he thinks he is lucky to be alive.

“I suffered very difficult fragmentation injuries, but I lived and am here today. I am one of the lucky ones. The missile landed in the street near our house. My memory of my childhood is just a memory of fear. I am still affected by the experience of the injury – I feel pain when it is cold, and I have scars across my abdomen.”

Adnan’s father, Jabbar, a 51-year-old carpenter, says they had to leave their home for three years to save themselves from the fighting.

“When we came back, our homes and streets were in ruins. We were deeply shocked. Everything had gone and we had to start again, trying to rebuild our lives. It seems hard to return to normal, to how it was. Everybody is suffering. So many buildings have been destroyed and our children have been through so much.”

Adnan and his family remain affected by the bombardments that came constantly, still never feeling safe in their home.

Stronger action is needed to protect people in conflicts around the world.
The Political Agreement

We are seeing more and more armed conflict in urban areas like towns and cities. Stronger action is needed to protect women, girls, boys, and men in conflicts around the world.

In November an international political agreement on explosive weapons in populated areas will be signed by governments from around the world in Dublin. It has the potential to significantly reduce death and suffering to people impacted by war. It could save lives, and we’re calling on world leaders to sign up to it.

MAG is part of the International Network on Explosive Weapons calling for strong action to save lives and prevent humanitarian suffering from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

So far, the UK and more than 20 other countries intend to sign this political agreement, and we want many other states to follow.

Governments which sign this political agreement will be committing to take action that would prevent devastating physical and psychological harm to people in conflicts.

Please join us today and ask world leaders to take action now and protect civilians from explosive weapons in populated areas.