Addressing a conference devoted to the review of an international conventional weapons treaty,
the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and other
international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, decried the effects
of weapons on innocent civilians.
“Civilians always bear the highest price of war while the weapons
industries profit from it,” Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic said on December
12.
“Until this unfortunate logic is changed, it is incumbent upon us to
reduce at least the human suffering caused by armed conflicts.”
The prelate emphasized that incendiary weapons should be “regulated
or prohibited, regardless of the purpose for which the weapons are
primarily designed.”
Referring to the use of explosive weapons in urban areas, Archbishop
Jurkovic called upon the international community to “make bold decisions
aiming to safeguard civilian infrastructures.”
He also repeated the
Holy See’s call for a ban on lethal autonomous weapons systems, also
known as killer robots.
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