CCW meeting made informal due to Russia’s objections to civil society

21 November 2024

On 13–15 November 2024, the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) met in Geneva for their annual meeting. The meeting was held in informal mode, after Russia took the conference hostage by agreeing to confirm the Rules of Procedure only if certain restrictions were imposed upon the participation of observers in the meeting. This move by Russia is not new, as its delegates have tried to place obstacles in the way of participation by civil society in previous meetings of the CCW, as well as in other disarmament fora. But Russia’s actions highlighted, once again, how consensus is being used to block progress on important issues, including autonomous weapons systems (AWS), incendiary weapons, and more. Overall, the move to informal mode demonstrated that at a time when conventional weapons are being used to cause death and destruction around the world, the CCW’s failure has dire consequences not only for diplomacy and the credibility of the Convention, but for the people facing direct harm from these weapons. Check out RCW's report on the meeting.