Policy

The Republic of Belarus has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Belarus last commented on the Convention on Cluster Munitions in November 2010, when a government representative described it as “too strict” and not applicable for Belarus as it may threaten its security.[1] Belarus has said that it “shares the humanitarian concerns” caused by the use of cluster munitions but it has also objected to the way in which the convention was negotiated.[2] It has expressed a preference that cluster munitions should be addressed through the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), to which it is party. However, it is not known if this position will be reevaluated in the aftermath of the 2011 failure of the CCW to agree on the draft protocol on cluster munitions which has left the Convention on Cluster Munitions as the sole international instrument on the weapons.

Belarus did not participate in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and has not attended any meetings of the convention in the period since 2008, not even as an observer.[3]

Belarus is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

In 2010, Belarus said, “Our country is not a producer of cluster munitions.”[4] It is not known to have used or exported cluster munitions.

Belarus inherited a stockpile of cluster munitions from the Soviet Union. In 2010, Belarus said that it doesn’t have a “major” stockpile of cluster munitions, but it has not provided any information on the types or quantities.[5]

According to Jane’s Information Group, RBK-500 cluster bombs are in service with the country’s air force.[6] Belarus also possesses Grad 122mm, Uragan 220mm, and Smerch 300mm surface-to-surface rockets, but it is not known if these include versions with submunition payloads.[7]

According to a CMC member in Belarus, cluster munitions with expired shelf-life are regularly destroyed by the Ministry of Defense.[8]