Solomon Islands
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
Policy
The Solomon Islands has not yet acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
The status of accession is not known. Previously, in September 2011, an official confirmed that the government was actively working to join the convention.
The Solomon Islands did not participate in the Oslo Process. It attended the convention’s Meetings of States Parties in 2010 and 2011 as an observer, but did not make any statements.[1] The Solomon Islands also attended a regional workshop on explosive remnants of war (ERW) in the Pacific held in Brisbane, Australia in June 2013.[2]
The Solomon Islands voted in favor of UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 68/182 on 18 December 2013, which expressed “outrage” at the Syrian government’s “continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights” including the use of cluster munitions.[3]
The Solomon Islands is party to the Mine Ban Treaty.
The Solomon Islands is not known to have ever used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions. In September 2011, a government representative informed the Monitor that the Solomon Islands are not affected by cluster munition remnants.[4]
[1] The Solomon Islands did not make a public statement on the issue during the meeting, but its representative told the CMC that he would recommend that accession to the convention be added to the government’s list of treaty priorities. CMC meeting with George Hoa’au, Assistant Secretary for the UN and Treaties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, in Vientiane, Lao PDR, 9 November 2010. At a side meeting held during the Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut, Lebanon in September 2011, the Solomon Islands representative said that an internal consultation process is considering accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Aotearoa New Zealand Cluster Munition Coalition web story, “Pacific action on cluster munitions,” 22 September 2011.
[2] The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and ICBL-CMC member organization Safe Ground (formerly the Australian Network to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munitions) co-hosted the workshop with the support of AusAID. Draft Outcomes Statement, Pacific Regional ERW Workshop, 27–28 June 2013. Provided to the Monitor by Lorel Thompson, National Coordinator, Safe Ground, 30 March 2014.
[3] “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution A/RES/68/182, 18 December 2013.
[4] Monitor meeting with Miriam Lidimani, Legal Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Solomon Islands, in Beirut, 14 September 2011.