Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Policy

The Kingdom of Denmark signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified on 12 February 2010. It was among the first 30 ratifications to trigger entry into force of the convention on 1 August 2010.[1]

Denmark has reported that “a review of existing Danish legislation has proven it unnecessary for Denmark to take national legal measures to implement” the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[2] According to Denmark, the 2009 parliamentary motion approving ratification of the convention states that the convention’s provisions can be upheld without changes to existing Danish laws, and that penal sanctions for violations of the convention are imposed under the Military Penal Code.[3] Denmark has also reported that its Defense Command has issued a letter providing instructions on immediate steps to be taken to implement the convention.[4]

Denmark submitted its annual updated Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report on 30 April 2012, covering calendar year 2011.[5]

Denmark participated in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and its position shifted significantly to the point that it was able to adopt the convention at the conclusion of the negotiations in Dublin in May 2008.[6] Denmark’s swift ratification of the convention and the early initiation of its stockpile destruction demonstrate its strong commitment to the convention.

Denmark continued to engage in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2011 and the first half of 2012. At the convention’s Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut, Lebanon in September 2011, Denmark again confirmed its intent to meet all its obligations under the convention and provided an update on its progress in stockpile destruction.[7]

Denmark participated in the convention’s intersessional meetings in Geneva in April 2012, where it announced that destruction of its cluster munition stockpile would commence later in 2012, four years earlier than previously stated (see the Stockpile destruction section below). Denmark also emphasized that the Convention on Cluster Munitions is “the standard and the appropriate framework for addressing the humanitarian impact of cluster munitions” and appealed to all states not party to “abolish” cluster munitions and join the ban convention without delay.[8]

Interpretive issues

Denmark has not yet stated its views on several issues important to the interpretation and implementation of the convention, including the prohibition on transit and the prohibition on foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions.

Denmark’s ratification instrument provided the following statement on the prohibition on assistance with prohibited acts during joint military operations: “Article 21 contains a significant provision for States Parties to be allowed to cooperate with states not party to the Convention (interoperability). Regardless of the broad wording of the ban in Article 1, States Parties may continue to participate in military cooperation and operations with States not party to the Convention. However, this access is not unlimited, as a State Party is never allowed to develop or acquire cluster munitions or explicitly request support in the form of cluster munitions in a situation where the State Party has an exclusive control over the choice of the ammunition.”[9]

Denmark has reported that its Defense Command has issued instructions that stipulate “limitations on the possibilities to co-operate with nations who have not signed the convention.”[10]

Disinvestment

For several years Danish NGOs have been calling for Danish financial institutions to stop investing in companies that produce cluster munitions, and in 2009 a motion was submitted for a ban on investment in cluster munition production.[11]

In January 2010, the Danish government expressed its opposition to a prohibition on investment in cluster munition producing companies.[12] In September 2010, the Ministry of Economics and Business Affairs published a “Guide on Responsible Investment” based on the UN Principles for Responsible Investment that describes mandatory disinvestment as an “emergency solution.”[13] In December 2011, the Minister of Business and Growth said that in the period since the guide was published there had not been any further engagement by the government on disinvestment in cluster munition production.[14]

Denmark has reported that UN Principles for Responsible Investment and the Danish Guide on Responsible Investment “demand all investors to respect international norms and conventions” such as the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[15] As of September 2010, 24 Danish investors had signed the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.[16]

A June 2012 report by NGOs IKV Pax Christi and FairFin (formerly Netwerk Vlaanderen) praised four Danish financial institutions for their measures to ban investments in cluster munition producers.[17]

Convention on Conventional Weapons

Denmark is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). For several years, it staunchly supported a United States-led effort to conclude a new CCW protocol on cluster munitions. However, in September 2011, the newly elected coalition government led by the Social Democrats subsequently reversed Denmark’s position and stated its opposition to the proposed CCW protocol.[18]

In a November 2011 letter to the Cluster Munition Coalition, Minister for Foreign Affairs Villy Søvndal stated, “I have instructed the Danish delegation to the upcoming Fourth Review Conference not to accept the draft for an additional protocol currently on the table.” The minister cited the CMC’s “important and very well founded arguments” as helping lead the “reconsideration of the Danish position with regard to the draft text for an additional protocol on cluster munitions to the CCW.” At the same time, the minister emphasized that “a total failure of the Review Conference would not be in the interest of our common goal of a world free of this inhumane weapon” and said that “any eventual protocol should be a temporary measure supplementing and thus in no way contradicting the Convention on Cluster Munitions.”[19]

At the outset of the CCW’s Fourth Review Conference in Geneva in November 2011, Denmark said that as a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions it “has already committed itself to the prohibition and elimination of cluster munitions that pose unacceptable harm to civilians” and urged all states to join the ban convention. Denmark described the Convention on Cluster Munitions as “one of the major humanitarian achievements in the last decade” and warned, “we cannot allow for this achievement to be rolled back by establishing a lower standard within another instrument.” Denmark said the chair’s draft text of the proposed CCW protocol “unfortunately, undermines rather than underpins the Convention on Cluster Munitions and we are, therefore, not in a position to support the draft as it stands.”[20]

During the negotiations, Denmark joined a group of states that opposed consensus on the conclusion of a CCW protocol based on the chair’s draft text. On the final day of the conference, Denmark was one of 50 states that issued a joint statement declaring that the text did not enjoy consensus and was unacceptable from a humanitarian standpoint.[21] The conference ended without adopting a protocol and with no proposals to continue negotiations in 2012, thus marking the end of the CCW’s work on cluster munitions.

After the conference concluded, Minister Søvndal expressed relief that the Convention on Cluster Munitions “was not compromised” by a new CCW protocol on cluster munitions and said that “humanitarian considerations” had “not been met by the former Danish line” on the draft protocol.[22]

Use, production, and transfer

Denmark is not known to have produced, used, or exported cluster munitions.

Stockpiling

In its Article 7 reports, Denmark has declared a stockpile of 42,020 cluster munitions of three types containing 2,440,940 submunitions: DM642 artillery projectiles, DM662 artillery projectiles, and MK20 Rockeye cluster bombs.

Cluster munitions stockpiled by Denmark (as of 31 December 2011)[23]

Stockpile destruction

Under Article 3 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Denmark is required to declare and destroy all stockpiled cluster munitions under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but no later than 1 August 2018

Denmark’s Defense Command has issued instructions that existing stockpiles of cluster munitions cannot be used in military operations, must be separated from operational munitions in storage depots, and should be clearly marked for destruction. The Defense Command has also issued instructions that existing stockpiles of munitions cannot be transferred, except for “limited amounts of munitions to be used for training purposes” which “should be thoroughly documented.” [24]

In April 2012, Denmark announced that its stockpile destruction process is scheduled to begin in 2012, four years sooner than originally planned. According to Denmark, the contractor is finalizing the plan for physical destruction and the process is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.[25]

Previously, in September 2011, Denmark stated that it expected to begin the stockpile destruction in 2016 or possibly sooner, depending on the contractor’s capacity to handle the quantity of munitions.[26] In its April 2012 Article 7 report, Denmark stated an implementation plan for stockpile destruction would be finalized in 2012.[27]

In July 2012, Danish media reported that the cost of the stockpile destruction had been revised to a total of DKK17.7 million.[28] Previously, in 2009, Denmark estimated that destruction of the DM642 and DM662 cluster munitions would cost as much as DKK250 million (US$46.7 million).[29]

Retention

In a July 2012 media article, the Minister of Defense stated that Denmark intends to retain 3,600 submunitions for training.[30] A government official has confirmed that this number of submunitions will be retained and said the Ministry of Defense expects to use 180 submunitions per year to train clearance personnel.[31] In April 2012, Denmark stated that all retained submunitions will be separated from their cluster munition containers and so “cannot be used operationally anymore.”[32]

Previously, in November 2010, Denmark said it intended to retain 170 cluster munitions for training explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) personnel.[33]

In its Article 7 reports, Denmark stated that the types and quantities of retained cluster munitions were still “To Be Determined” and said the Defense Command was identifying cluster munitions to be retained for training and educational purposes of EOD personnel.[34] In April 2012, Denmark stated that while the process of identifying the precise number of cluster munitions necessary was still ongoing, “current indications are that the final number is expected to be significantly lower than initially announced.”[35]