Issues – Explosive Remnants of War

An explosive remnant of war (ERW) is the term for unexploded and/or abandoned ordnance left behind after a conflict or war.

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What are explosive remnants of war (ERW)?

• The term, ERW, includes all abandoned and unexploded weapons in an area – i.e. unexploded artillery shells, grenades, mortars, rockets, air-dropped bombs, anti-vehicle landmines as well as dud cluster munitions. It excludes antipersonnel landmines.
• Weapons that did not detonate as designed or those that were abandoned (and can still detonate as designed).
• ERW contain powerful explosives and metal fragments that become shrapnel.
• Scattered throughout the world, although the quantity of it is largely unknown, its impact is significant. Laos, Cambodia, Kosovo, Eritrea, Iraq, Afghanistan and now, Lebanon, have experienced ERW casualty levels on a scale similar to those caused by landmines.

How are explosive remnants of war different from landmines?

• Antipersonnel mines are designed to be victim-activated and long lasting. Most other weapons are not designed to indiscriminately harm people after hostilities are over. Weapons that do not detonate as designed or are abandoned pose a threat similar to landmines.
• ERW usually contain explosive power and metal fragments, making them more likely to cause multiple casualties. ERW from cluster munitions cover larger areas that can be difficult to map.

How are people affected by explosive remnants of war?

• On explosion, ERW typically projects hundreds of shrapnel fragments which can kill or severely injure anyone in range. If a victim survives, they may suffer the loss of limbs, burns, puncture wounds, ruptured eardrums, and blindness.
• ERW can be wholly or partially visible, hidden by vegetation or buried.
• Until cleared post-conflict, they pose an ongoing serious threat to civilians. They are particularly dangerous because they are unpredictable. Detonation depends on whether the weapon was fired, the arming mechanism and fuse used, corrosion and degradation, and how people interact with it.
• Accidents happen when people try to move ERW because of economic necessity or social responsibility. Civilians try to clear land for farming and housing or to stop children from playing with them. In some poor areas people sometimes salvage military debris to sell as scrap metal.
• In addition to casualties, ERW create crippling social and economic problems. Like anti-personnel landmines, their presence engenders fear in affected communities. They deny access to land and impede free movement – return of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) for example. They also delay humanitarian assistance, place additional strain on medical resources and hinder reconstruction and development.
• All munitions must be treated as live until otherwise determined. As such they compound the already dangerous, expensive and painstaking task of mine clearance.

What is being done?

• Despite some movement internationally, there continues to be no comprehensive solution to address all humanitarian concerns.
• On November 12th, 2006, Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War, as part of the UN's Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), entered into force. It is the first multilateral agreement to address the range of unexploded and abandoned ordnance that threatens civilians, peacekeepers and humanitarian workers in a post-conflict situation. It addresses the responsibility for ERW clearance, sharing information for clearance, risk education, warning civilian populations, and assistance. Click here to see which countries have joined Protocol V.

Ban at a glance

Region		Protocol V - Explosive Remnants of War
		Ratified
	Africa	6
	Americas	12
	Asia-Pacific	5
	Europe/Central Asia	36
	Middle East/North Africa	2
Total		61
Other Areas		0

Find out more

MAC also was a partner in the research and production of the Global Impact Survey, the first in-depth study on the socio-economic impact of ERW on civilians.  You will find this survey and other MAC downloadable resources in our Tools section.

To spread the word, see our Resources section where you will find presentations, web banners, signage and more.

Explore Protocol V of the UN's Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) here.