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Ban Policy (part 1)

(Introduction | Universalization | Use | Production | Transfer)

© Safa Sabah SAbri, August 2014 -- Members of the Iraqi Alliance of Disability Organizations celebrate the fourth anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on Cluster Munitions outside their headquarters in Baghdad.

Introduction

The past six years since the Convention on Cluster Munitions was adopted by 107 states in Dublin on 30 May 2008 have seen remarkable progress in the eradication of these weapons.[1] A total of 113 states have signed, ratified, or acceded to the convention, of which 84 are States Parties legally bound by its provisions.[2]

These countries are adhering to the convention’s comprehensive prohibition on the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions. There have been no reports or allegations of any States Parties engaging in banned activities since the convention entered into force on 1 August 2010, therefore becoming binding international law. More than half of all States Parties have enacted legislation to enforce the convention’s provisions or have declared that existing laws will be adequate to ensure their adherence.

As of July 2014, a total of 22 States Parties have destroyed more than 1.16 million stockpiled cluster munitions containing nearly 140 million submunitions, which represents the destruction of 80% of all cluster munitions and 78% of all submunitions declared stockpiled. At the end of 2013, the United Kingdom (UK) announced the completion of destruction of its once massive stockpile of 190,828 cluster munitions and 38.7 million submunitions, while Denmark completed its stockpile destruction in March 2014. In 2013 alone, more than 130,000 cluster munitions and 24 million submunitions were destroyed by these and eight other States Parties, including France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of (FYR) Macedonia, and Sweden.

Approximately three-quarters of States Parties have provided initial transparency reports as required under Article 7 of the convention detailing these and other actions taken to implement and promote the convention. The community of States Parties and signatories continues to collaborate closely with representatives from the United Nations (UN), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) to promote universalization and ensure that the convention’s provisions are respected and implemented by all.

Yet, major challenges remain if the convention’s objective of putting an end to the human suffering caused by cluster munitions is to be realized. In Syria, the government’s use of cluster munitions continued into its third year as Cluster Munition Monitor 2014 went to print, with no end in sight. Worrying reports emerged of new cluster munition use in South Sudan and Ukraine in the first half of 2014, but it is not yet clear which armed forces are responsible.

These states remain outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions and Syria is by no means representative of the vast majority of non-signatories that largely adhere to the convention’s provisions, despite not joining. More than 50 states not party to the convention are among the 140-plus countries that have condemned the Syrian government’s use of cluster munitions since 2012 in statements and resolutions, including major past users such as Israel and the United States (US). While it has not criticized cluster munition use in Syria, non-signatory Russia was swift to criticize the use of cluster munitions against civilian populations in eastern Ukraine on several occasions in July 2014. The use of cluster bombs in South Sudan was met with protest by a UN Security Council resolution in May 2014.[3]

Such actions contribute to the strong stigma against any use of cluster munitions. They show how most non-signatories acknowledge the civilian harm caused by cluster munitions, while many profess to accept the humanitarian rationale for a ban as provided by the Convention on Cluster Munitions, yet few have made measurable progress toward accession. Despite participating as observers in meetings of the convention, several countries where cluster munitions were once used such as Cambodia, Serbia, Sudan, Tajikistan, and Vietnam continue to disappoint survivors of the weapons by failing to heed calls to join the ban convention.

One example of progress is seen in Slovakia, where the government concluded an extensive review of the convention in January 2014 with the adoption of an action plan that should result in Slovakia’s accession to the convention by July 2015. This former producer and exporter of cluster munitions was one of a group of countries that deferred the ban on cluster munitions as they pursued another legal instrument on cluster munitions in the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).[4]

The 2011 failure of the CCW’s Fourth Review Conference to conclude a new protocol on cluster munitions effectively ended its years-long deliberations on cluster munitions, which has left the Convention on Cluster Munitions as the sole multilateral instrument to provide a comprehensive framework to specifically address the weapons.[5] It was also an affirmation that the Convention on Cluster Munitions and its sister instrument, the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, represent the alternative humanitarian disarmament path, where humanitarian considerations and the protection of civilians are put ahead of narrow, perceived national security interests.[6]

But, if further progress is to be made under the Convention on Cluster Munitions by its First Review Conference in 2015, all of its supporters must redouble their efforts to promote its universalization, contribute to its implementation, and not hesitate to defend the norm that it is establishing against any use of cluster munitions by anyone under any circumstance.

This overview covers activities during the second half of 2013 and the first half of 2014, where data is available. All findings are drawn from detailed country profiles available from the Monitor website.[7]

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Universalization

“Universalization” refers to the process of non-signatory countries acceding or otherwise joining the Convention on Cluster Munitions, as well as ratifications by countries that signed the convention prior to its entry into force on 1 August 2010. Both processes usually require some form of parliamentary approval, often in the form of legislation.

One hundred and thirteen states from all corners of the world have signed, ratified, or acceded to the convention since it was opened for signature in Oslo on 3 December 2008.[8] However, only one country acceded and no signatories ratified the convention in the second half of 2013 and first half of 2014.

As the following regional summaries show, many of the 29 remaining signatories are in the process of either consulting on ratification or engaging in parliamentary approval of ratification. Some states must complete national implementation legislation before they can ratify.

In the second half of 2013 and the first half of 2014, several key meetings and activities related to the Convention on Cluster Munitions took place that provided opportunities for promoting universalization of the convention. These are also detailed below.[9]

Signature

A total of 108 states signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in the period from when it was opened for signature in Oslo on 3–4 December 2008 until its entry into force on 1 August 2010.[10]

As of 31 July 2014, 79 signatories have ratified, becoming States Parties to the convention, and 29 signatories still need to ratify.[11] Signatories are bound by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties not to engage in acts that “would defeat the object and purpose” of any treaty they have signed. Thus, signatories to the Convention on Cluster Munitions have committed to never use, produce, or transfer cluster munitions, even if they have not yet ratified.[12]

Since the convention took effect, states can no longer sign, but must instead accede (essentially a process that combines signature and ratification into a single step).[13]

Accession

Five countries have acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions since it entered into force four years ago on 1 August 2010: three in 2011 (Grenada, Swaziland, and Trinidad and Tobago) and two in 2013 (Andorra and Saint Kitts and Nevis).

There was one accession globally during the reporting period by Saint Kitts and Nevis on 13 September 2013, which is the third Caribbean nation to accede to the convention.[14]

Non-signatory Slovakia—a past producer and exporter of cluster munitions—adopted an action plan on 15 January 2014 to prepare for its accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions by 30 June 2015.[15] Slovakia gave its commitment to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions after concluding that it is now “the only valid international instrument” to address cluster munitions following the 2011 failure by the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) to conclude a new protocol on the weapon.

Aside from Slovakia, there was little if any progress toward accession in 2013 or the first half of 2014 by states that previously supported the creation of another legal instrument on cluster munitions in the CCW.[16]

Ratification

A total of 79 signatories had ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions as of 31 July 2014. More than half of the 29 signatories still to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions are from Sub-Saharan Africa, while five are from the Americas, three are from Asia-Pacific, and two are from Europe.

There were no ratifications by the remaining signatories in the second half of 2013 or first half of 2014. The last ratification was Iraq on 14 May 2013 during the reporting period of the previous report, Cluster Munition Monitor 2013.

The lack of ratifications reflects the fact that there are fewer signatories left to ratify than in the years that immediately followed the December 2008 signing conference. But the slow progress on ratification coupled with the low level of accessions is disappointing given the efforts made by States Parties, international organizations, and the CMC.

Regional universalization developments

Africa

A total of 21 of the 49 states of sub-Saharan Africa have ratified and one (Swaziland) has acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, making a total of 22 States Parties from the region. A total of 19 states from the region have signed but not yet ratified the convention.[17] Eight states from Sub-Saharan Africa remain outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[18]

From Africa, signatories the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Congo appear closest to ratifying, having completed their respective legislative processes approving ratification.

Legislative processes to ratify the convention are underway in other signatories from Africa, including South Africa, where the cabinet announced its decision on 4 September 2013 to send the convention to parliament for ratification.[19] In Benin, Djibouti, and Rwanda, draft ratification laws are believed to have been introduced for parliamentary approval, but as of 31 July 2014 the exact legislative status was not clear.

As the updated Monitor country profiles show, more than five years after signing the Convention on Cluster Munitions, 13 African states still have not introduced ratification measures to their national parliaments for consideration and adoption: Angola, Central African Republic, Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Principe, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda.

There were few signs in 2013 and the first half of 2014 that accession is being actively considered by any of the African non-signatories. At the convention’s Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2013, Gabon again pledged that its accession to the convention “is not far away.”[20]

Americas

Of the 35 states from the Americas, 15 past signatories have ratified and Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago have acceded to the convention, making a total of 18 States Parties.[21] Of the five signatories from the region, Colombia appears closest to completing its ratification after adopting ratification legislation in 2012 that was reviewed by the constitutional court in 2013.[22]

Legislative processes to approve ratification are underway in the other signatory countries from the Americas. Canada’s Senate adopted legislation to implement and ratify the convention on 4 December 2012, which was then adopted by the House of Commons with an amendment on 19 June 2014.[23] The amended draft legislation was referred back to the Senate, where it will be reviewed when parliament resumes in September 2014.[24] An official from Paraguay told a regional meeting in December 2013 that a Senate committee still has to approve the ratification legislation, before it can be sent to the lower house of for approval.[25]

The 12 non-signatories from the region are a mix of those with long-standing objections to the convention (Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, US, and Venezuela) and smaller states favorable to the convention, but with limited capacity or interest to join (Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Saint Lucia, and Suriname). Only two of these countries participated as observers at the convention’s Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2013: Argentina and Saint Kitts and Nevis. On the final day of the meeting, Saint Kitts and Nevis deposited its instrument of accession.

Asia-Pacific

Only 12 of the 40 states that comprise the Asia-Pacific region have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[26] There have been no accessions from the Asia-Pacific region; the nine States Parties all signed and ratified the convention.[27]

Asia-Pacific signatories Indonesia, Palau, and the Philippines have all said that they are pursuing ratification, but none have introduced ratification legislation into their respective parliaments for consideration and approval. Indonesia and the Philippines still do not appear to have concluded stakeholder consultations on ratification of the convention that began after it was signed in 2008.

Non-signatories Cambodia, China, Mongolia, Thailand, and Vietnam have continued to actively engage in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, making statements at the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2013. Yet none of these states have adopted plans to accede or provided timeframes for when they might do so. Half of the non-signatories from the Asia-Pacific region still have not made a public statement articulating their position on joining the convention.[28]

Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia

Thirty-three of the 54 countries in Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia have signed the convention, of which 31 have ratified. Andorra has acceded, making a total of 32 States Parties.[29] All except eight of the 28 European Union (EU) member states are States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[30] Russia and all eight states from the Caucasus and Central Asia remain outside the ban convention and have made little, if any, progress toward joining it in the reporting period.[31]

As the last signatories from Europe left to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Cyprus and Iceland unfortunately made little progress toward that objective in 2013 and the first half of 2014. In Cyprus, there has been no effort to adopt ratification legislation that was introduced to parliament in 2011 and officials see no prospect for immediate action.[32] Despite promises by Icelandic officials since 2010, the ratification package for the convention still had not been introduced to parliament for approval as of 1 July 2014.[33]

The government of Slovakia approved an action plan on 15 January 2014, which instructs relevant ministries to begin the process of its accession to the convention in 2014 so that the instrument can be deposited by 30 June 2015.[34] Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Miroslav Lajčák, has informed the CMC that the plan represents “a serious political commitment and significant step towards…accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in a realistic timeframe.”[35]

Middle East and North Africa

There are just three States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions from the Middle East and North Africa: Iraq, Lebanon, and Tunisia.[36] A total of 16 countries from the region have not signed the convention.[37]

Several non-signatories from the Middle East and North Africa have continued to participate in the convention’s meetings, but few made any statements in 2013 or the first half of 2014.

According to the CMC, in June 2014 a government representative confirmed that Palestine intends to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[38] Previously, officials had indicated that Palestine would like to join the convention once it achieved legal status with the UN.

Meetings and actions on cluster munitions

Zambia hosted the Fourth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Lusaka from 9–13 September 2013. Approximately 800 delegates attended from 106 states (58 States Parties, 18 signatories, and 30 observers/non-signatories), as well as from UN agencies, the ICRC, and the CMC.[39] The CMC delegation was comprised of 150 campaigners including cluster munition survivors and youth campaigners. The meeting was opened by the President of Zambia, Michael Chilufya Sata, who stated that cluster munitions “have no place in the modern era.”[40]

The meeting adopted the “Lusaka Progress Report” detailing progress made on the convention’s implementation and universalization since 2010 and especially since the Third Meeting of States Parties in September 2012.[41] It also agreed to establish an “implementation support unit” in Geneva to replace the ad hoc assistance that the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has provided since 2010 to support successive presidents of the Meetings of States Parties, as well as all States Parties.

Chile hosted a regional workshop on cluster munitions in Santiago on 12–13 December 2013, attended by representatives from 24 Latin American and Caribbean states, including non-signatories Argentina, Belize, Cuba, and Saint Lucia.[42] The participating states adopted the “Santiago Declaration” calling for “joint action to ensure the protection of civilians through the prohibition and total eradication of cluster munitions.”[43]

Representatives from 11 African signatory states attended workshops on the universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions held in Geneva on 20 and 24 February 2014.[44] Representatives of non-signatory states from the Middle East and North Africa attended a similar workshop on the convention’s universalization in Geneva on 27 May 2014.

The fourth round of intersessional meetings of the Convention on Cluster Munitions took place in Geneva on 7–9 April 2014, with participation from representatives of 101 countries in addition to a CMC delegation.

The Regional Arms Control Verification and Implementation Assistance Centre (RACVIAC) at the Centre for Security Cooperation held its sixth annual workshop on the implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions during a wider symposium on mine action in Zadar, Croatia from 22–26 April 2014. The workshop was attended by six governments from the region.[45]

As President of the Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Zambia has placed special emphasis on promoting universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. In June 2014, its Minister of Foreign Affairs Henry Kalaba promoted the convention in his capacity as President of the Fourth Meeting of States Parties, discussing accession with his counterpart in Mauritius during a visit and also raising it with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence of Zimbabwe during a visit.[46]

Since 2012, several Pacific workshops on the clearance of explosive remnants of war dating from World War II have featured the need for universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, including a workshop convened by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) in Palau in November 2013 and a workshop hosted by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and ICBL-CMC member organisation SafeGround (formerly the Australian Network to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munitions) in Brisbane, Australia in June 2013.

Costa Rica will host the convention’s Fifth Meeting of States Parties in San Jose on 2–5 September 2014.[47]

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Use of Cluster Munitions

Overview of cluster munitions use

Cluster munitions have been used during armed conflict in 38 countries and four disputed territories by at least 22 governments since the end of World War II (as detailed in the following table and the Timeline of cluster munition use found at the end of this chapter). Almost every part of the world has experienced cluster munition use at some point over the past 70 years, including Southeast Asia, Southeast Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America.

Summary of states using cluster munitions and locations used[48]

User state	Locations used
Colombia	Colombia
Eritrea	Ethiopia
Ethiopia	Eritrea
France	Chad, Iraq, Kuwait
Georgia	Georgia, possibly Abkhazia
Iraq	Iran, Iraq
Israel	Lebanon, Syria
Libya	Chad, Libya
Morocco	Western Sahara, Mauritania
Netherlands	Former Yugoslavia (Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia)
Nigeria	Sierra Leone
Russia	Chechnya, Afghanistan (as USSR), Georgia
Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia, Yemen
South Africa	Has admitted past use, location unknown
Sudan	Sudan
Syria	Syria
Thailand	Cambodia
UK	Falklands/Malvinas, Iraq, Kuwait, former Yugoslavia (Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia)
US	Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Grenada, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Vietnam, Yemen, former Yugoslavia (Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia)
Yugoslavia (former Socialist Republic of)	Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo

The United States, Israel, and Syria—all non-signatories to the Convention on Cluster Munitions—have been among the most prolific users of cluster munitions, but the vast majority of states outside the convention have never used the weapon.[49] Only three non-signatories are considered major users and producers of cluster munitions: Israel, Russia, and the US.[50]

Many countries that used cluster munitions in the past are now either States Parties (France, Iraq, the Netherlands, and the UK) or signatories (Colombia, Nigeria, and South Africa) to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and have relinquished use of cluster munitions. Article 4 of the convention is not retroactive, but affirms that a State Party that previously used cluster munitions that became remnants on the territory of another State Party before the convention’s entry into force for both parties is “strongly encouraged” to provide assistance to the other State Party.

Article 1 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions contains the convention’s core preventive measures designed to eliminate future humanitarian problems from cluster munitions, most crucially the absolute ban on use of cluster munitions. There have been no confirmed reports or allegations of new use of cluster munitions by any of the State Parties to the ban convention since it entered into force on 1 August 2010.[51]

New use

Since 1 July 2013, cluster munitions have continued to be used in Syria, while evidence of cluster munition attacks was recorded in South Sudan and Ukraine in the first half of 2014. None of these states are party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

The three conflicts are entirely separate, but it is notable that the same kind of cluster munitions have been used in more than one of these countries.[52] The Monitor has also recorded the first use of self-destruct cluster munitions in Syria as well as Ukraine.[53]

Use in Syria

At least 249 cluster munitions were used by government forces in 10 of Syria’s 14 governorates in the two-year period from July 2012 to July 2014, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).[54] The true extent of use in Syria is likely more widespread as the data is incomplete and not all remnants have been recorded. At least seven types of cluster munitions have been used in Syria, including air-dropped bombs, dispensers fixed to aircraft, and ground-launched rockets, and at least nine types of explosive submunitions.[55]

Initial reports of cluster munition use emerged in mid-2012, then increased sharply in October 2012 as the government intensified its air campaign on rebel-held areas with the use of RBK-series air-dropped cluster bombs containing AO-1SCh and PTAB-2.5M bomblets.[56] The Syrian government continued to use air-dropped cluster bombs in 2013 and 2014, including RBK-500 cluster bombs containing ShOAB-0.5 submunitions. Use of AO-2.5RT and PTAB-2.5KO submunitions was also recorded, but the delivery system was not clear.[57]

At the end of 2012, the first use of ground-launched cluster munitions was recorded when Syrian government forces used multi-barrel rocket launchers to deliver Egyptian-made 122mm SAKR cluster munition rockets containing DPICM-like submunitions with distinctive white ribbons.[58] In early 2014, the use of 9M55K and 9M27K-series surface-to-surface rockets containing 9N235 submunitions fitted with self-destruct mechanisms was first documented.[59] HRW attributed the use to the Syrian government.[60]

Video footage of another DPICM-like submunition with a red ribbon was reportedly filmed in the village of Maliha in rural Damascus in early April 2014 and again in the town of al-Waziyeh southeast of Homs on 22 July 2014.[61] From its markings, arms experts have identified the weapon as a “ZP-39” submunition, but it is of unknown origin and the delivery system is not known. Markings on the submunitions indicate they were manufactured in 1993, making them more recently produced than the RBK-series cluster bombs, but still old stock at more than 20 years of age.[62]

The Syrian military initially denied possessing or using cluster munitions and the government has continued to deny its use of the weapons.[63] As of July 2014, it does not appear that cluster munitions have been used by opposition rebel groups, but there is some evidence of unexploded submunitions being used as improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by some rebel groups.[64]

The civilian harm caused by the use of cluster munitions in Syria has attracted widespread media coverage and public outcry. By 1 July 2014, a total of 142 states had condemned the Syrian government’s use of cluster munitions through national statements, UN resolutions, and communiques including 51 non-signatories.[65] During 2013, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted two resolutions on the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic that included specific references criticizing the use of cluster munitions in Syria.[66]

Use in South Sudan

In early 2014, evidence emerged showing that cluster munitions had been used recently during the conflict between the opposition forces loyal to South Sudan’s former Vice President Riek Machar and Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) government forces, with air-support for the SPLA provided by Uganda, a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. In the week of 7 February 2014, UN mine action experts found the remnants of at least eight RBK-250-275 cluster bombs and an unknown quantity of intact AO-1SCh submunitions by a stretch of road 16 kilometers south of Bor, the capital of Jonglei State, in an area not known to be contaminated by cluster munition remnants prior to mid-December 2013.[67]

Both South Sudanese and the Ugandan People’s Defence Force (UPDF) forces are believed to possess the types of aircraft capable of delivering this type of cluster munition, which can be dropped by fixed wing aircraft or helicopters. The opposition forces are not believed to possess these means of delivery.

South Sudan has denied using cluster munitions in the conflict and also denied Ugandan use of the weapons.[68] The commander of the Ugandan forces in South Sudan, Brig. Muhanga Kayanja, acknowledged that UPDF forces used helicopters to provide close support to ground troops, but denied the use of cluster bombs.[69] A UPDF spokesman reportedly said that the Ugandan army would not take part in any investigation into the incident as that responsibility rests with the South Sudanese government and international experts.[70] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon drew attention to the UN’s discovery of the cluster munition remnants near Bor and condemned the use of cluster bombs in the South Sudan conflict, but did not indicate who the UN believed was responsible or if an investigation would be undertaken.[71]

The CMC condemned the cluster munition use in South Sudan and called for an immediate investigation.[72] By 31 July 2014, twenty countries had expressed concern at the use of cluster munitions in South Sudan, including Zambia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wylbur C. Simuusa—in its capacity as the President of the Convention on Cluster Munitions—and Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende.[73] During the April 2014 intersessional meetings of the convention, Cambodia, the Netherlands and New Zealand made interventions expressing concern at the reported cluster bomb use in South Sudan, while 15 other states unanimously endorsed a UN Security Council on 27 May 2014 that noted “with serious concern reports of the indiscriminate use of cluster munitions” in Jonglei state and urged “all parties to refrain from similar such use in the future.”[74]

Use in Ukraine

In early July 2014, evidence emerged that strongly indicates ground-launched cluster munitions were used in recent weeks in two separate locations in eastern Ukraine during fighting between Ukrainian government forces and armed insurgents.[75]

On 3 July, the remnants of a 300mm 9M55K cluster munition rocket and a 9N235 fragmentation submunition were identified from photographs reportedly taken at Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine.[76] A total of 72 individual 9N235 submunitions are contained in each 9M55K rocket, which is fired from the 9K58 Smerch multiple-barrel rocket launcher over a maximum range of 90 kilometers.

On 11 July, photographs taken by the Associated Press at an insurgent base at Slavyansk, which was abandoned during the Ukrainian government’s early July take-back of the town, show the remnants of at least eight 220mm 9M27K-series cluster munition rockets and at least three fragmentation submunitions that are all either 9N210 or 9N235.[77] These rockets are fired from the 9K57 Uragan multi-barrel rocket launcher, which has a maximum range of 35 kilometers. According to the Associated Press, the remnants at Slavyansk were collected and destroyed by Ukrainian government explosive ordnance disposal teams.

Both Ukraine and Russia have large stockpiles of cluster munitions, including the types used in eastern Ukraine. The government of Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied using cluster munitions in eastern Ukraine.[78] On 4 July 2014, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the government of Ukraine of using cluster munitions against civilians.[79] On 25 July 2014, a senior commander of the Russian General Staff expressed concern that Ukrainian forces were using cluster munitions in civilian areas.[80]

The CMC has expressed concern at the “worrying” evidence of cluster munition use in eastern Ukraine and urged the government of Ukraine to confirm or deny the use allegations.[81]

Unilateral restrictions on use

Several states that have not joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions have imposed restrictions on the possible future use of cluster munitions.

In an April 2014 letter, the Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia stated “the Ministry of Defence of Slovakia has already banned the use of cluster munitions by the Slovak army.”[82] Previously, in 2009 and 2010, Slovakia stated, “The Armed Forces have not used and will not use cluster munitions ever in the military operations outside of the territory of the Slovak Republic.”[83]

The US confirmed in November 2011 that its policy on cluster munitions is still guided by a June 2008 US Department of Defense directive requiring that any US use of cluster munitions before 2018 that results in a 1% or higher unexploded ordnance (UXO) rate—which includes all but a tiny fraction of the US arsenal—must be approved by a “Combatant Commander,” a very high-ranking military official. After 2018, the US will no longer use cluster munitions that result in more than 1% UXO.

Romania has said it restricts the use of cluster munitions to use exclusively on its own territory. Poland has said it would use cluster munitions for defensive purposes only, and does not intend to use them outside its own territory. Estonia and Finland have made similar declarations.

During the CCW negotiations on cluster munitions, several states that have not signed or ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions publicly stated that they were prepared to accept a ban on the use of cluster munitions produced before 1980 as part of the proposed CCW protocol, including Russia, China, India, and South Korea. The CMC urges that as an interim measure toward joining the Convention on Cluster Munitions, these states should institute the commitments they made at the CCW as national policy.

Non-State Armed Groups

Due to the relative sophistication of cluster munitions and their delivery systems, very few non-state armed groups (NSAGs) have used these weapons and none have done so since 2006. In the past, cluster munitions use by NSAGs has been recorded in Afghanistan (by the Northern Alliance), Bosnia and Herzegovina (by a Serb militia), Croatia (by a Serb militia), and Israel (by Hezbollah). Cluster munitions have also been employed in conflicts against NSAGs, including in Libya, South Sudan, and Syria, as well as in Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Western Sahara.[84]

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Production of Cluster Munitions

A total of 34 states have developed or produced[85] more than 200 types of cluster munitions.[86] Half of these producers ceased manufacturing cluster munitions prior to or as a result of joining the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Producers

Sixteen countries are believed to produce cluster munitions or reserve the right to do so.[87] None of these states have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Asia and Europe account for the majority of producer states, with six and five producers respectively, while the Middle East and North Africa has three producer states and two producers are from the Americas.

Cluster munition producers

Brazil	Korea, South
China	Pakistan
Egypt	Poland
Greece	Romania
India	Russia
Iran	Singapore
Israel	Turkey
Korea, North	US

The Monitor has removed Slovakia from its list of cluster munition producers after its Deputy Prime Minister declared in April 2014 that “Slovakia has already stopped producing cluster munitions” and the government adopted an action plan committing Slovakia to accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions by 30 June 2015.[88]

It is not known if cluster munitions were produced in all 16 producer countries during 2013 and/or the first half of 2014 due to lack of transparency and available data. Previously, Greece informed the Monitor that its last production of cluster munitions was in 2001.[89] India stated that it did not produce any cluster munitions in 2011.[90]

At least three of the countries still producing cluster munitions have established reliability standards for submunitions:

• The US in 2001 instituted a policy that all submunitions reaching a production decision in fiscal year 2005 and beyond must have a UXO rate of less than 1%.[91]
• Poland stated in 2005, “The Ministry of Defense requires during acceptance tests less than 2.5% failure rate for the purchased submunitions.”[92]
• South Korea in 2008 issued a directive requiring that in the future it would only acquire cluster munitions with self-destruct mechanisms and a 1% or lower failure rate.[93]

Former producers

Under Article 1(b) of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, States Parties undertake to never develop or produce cluster munitions. Since the convention entered into force on 1 August 2010, there have been no confirmed instances of new production of cluster munitions by any of the convention’s States Parties or signatories.

Eighteen states have ceased the production of cluster munitions, as shown by the following table. All are States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions except signatory South Africa, and non-signatories Argentina and Slovakia, which have both indicated they do not intend to produce cluster munitions in future.

Former producers of cluster munitions

Argentina	Italy
Australia	Japan
Belgium	Netherlands
BiH	Slovakia
Chile	South Africa
Croatia	Spain
France	Sweden
Germany	Switzerland
Iraq	UK

A number of States Parties have provided information in their Article 7 transparency reports on the conversion or decommissioning of production facilities, including France, Japan, Sweden, and Switzerland.[94]

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Transfer of Cluster Munitions

The true scope of the global trade in cluster munitions is difficult to ascertain due to the overall lack of transparency on arms transfers. Despite this challenge, the Monitor has identified at least 15 countries that have in the past transferred more than 50 types of cluster munitions to at least 60 other countries.[95]

Exporters and recent transfers

While the historical record is incomplete and there are large variations in public information available, the US has probably been the world leader in exports, having transferred hundreds of thousands of cluster munitions containing tens of millions of submunitions to at least 30 countries and other areas.[96] Cluster munitions of Russian/Soviet origin are reported to be in the stockpiles of 36 states, including many that inherited stocks after the dissolution of the USSR.[97] The full extent of China’s exports of cluster munitions is not known, but unexploded submunitions of Chinese origin have been found in Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, and Sudan.

Non-signatories Brazil, Israel, South Korea, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the US are known to have exported cluster munitions since 2000. States Parties Chile, France, Germany, Moldova, Spain, and the UK exported cluster munitions prior to their adoption of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Non-signatories Georgia, India, Pakistan, Slovakia, Turkey, and the UAE are among the recipients of cluster munitions exports since 2005.

At least three states that have not joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions have enacted an export moratorium: Singapore, Slovakia, and the US.

New transfer information arising from recent use

It is not known who supplied or transferred the Soviet-era cluster munitions used in South Sudan, Syria, and Ukraine in 2014. All three states are known stockpilers of cluster munitions and the munitions appear to have been manufactured more than two decades ago. Cluster munition rockets used by the Syrian armed forces were likely produced by two Egyptian companies.

_____________________

[1] The convention text was adopted by consensus by the 107 governments that were full participants in the negotiations. However, adoption does not have any legal obligation attached. Eighteen states adopted the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Dublin on 30 May 2008 but never signed or acceded: Argentina, Bahrain, Belize, Brunei, Cambodia, Estonia, Finland, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Morocco, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Serbia, Slovakia, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, and Venezuela. Six other states that adopted the convention did not sign during the Oslo Signing Conference in December 2008, but joined later at a later date: Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Jamaica, Nigeria, Seychelles, and Swaziland.

[2] Accession and ratification are the most common ways to become a State Party. “States not party” to the convention are those that have signed but not ratified, and those that have not bound themselves as States Parties through accession, ratification, or other mechanisms such as acceptance or approval.

[3] UN Security Council press statement, “Security Council, Adopting Resolution 2155 (2014), extends mandate of mission in South Sudan,” 27 May 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf3.

[4] Among the states that said they preferred to wait for an outcome before deciding on the Convention on Cluster Munitions are Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, and Turkey.

[5] All but 40 of the 117 high contracting parties to the Convention on Conventional Weapons have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The CCW states that have yet to ban cluster munitions are: Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Estonia, Finland, Gabon, Georgia, Greece, India, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, South Korea, Latvia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates (UAE), US, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela. See the full list of CCW states at bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf5.

[6] All States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions have joined the Mine Ban Treaty except Lao PDR and Lebanon, while 49 Mine Ban Treaty States Parties have yet to accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions: Algeria, Argentina, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Gabon, Greece, Guyana, Jordan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Latvia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Romania, Saint Lucia, Serbia, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Sudan, Suriname, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Ukraine, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. As of 31 July 2013, there were 161 States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty and one signatory (Marshall Islands).

[7] See www.the-monitor.org.

[8] Forty-one from Sub-Saharan Africa, 34 from Europe, 23 from the Americas, 12 from Asia-Pacific, and three from the Middle East and North Africa.

[9] Starting in 2013, Cluster Munition Monitor no longer includes section reporting on activities at the Convention on Conventional Weapons as the CCW has done no work on cluster munitions since November 2011 when the Fourth Review Conference failed to conclude a protocol on cluster munitions. See Cluster Munition Monitor 2012, www.the-monitor.org/cmm/2012/.

[10] Ninety-four states signed in Oslo on 3–4 December 2008, 10 signed in 2009, and four signed in the first seven months of 2010 before the convention entered into force as binding international law.

[11] The 29 signatories yet to ratify are: Angola, Benin, Canada, CAR, Colombia, Cyprus, DRC, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea, Haiti, Iceland, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Palau, Paraguay, Philippines, Rwanda, São Tomé e Príncipe, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.

[12] The Vienna Convention is considered customary international law binding on all countries.

[13] A state must deposit an instrument of accession with the UN in New York. The convention enters into force for each individual state on the first day of the sixth month after their deposit of the instrument of accession.

[14] CMC web post, “Saint Kitts and Nevis joins global cluster bomb ban,” 14 September 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Ban14.

[15] Explanatory note, “Draft Action Plan for the Implementation of the Commitments of the Slovak Republic under the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” bit.ly/MonitorCMM2014Banf15. Attached in letter No.590.736/2014-OKOZ from Miroslav Lajčák, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs to Sarah Blakemore, Director, CMC, 25 April 2014.

[16] Among the states that said they preferred to wait for a CCW outcome before deciding on the Convention on Cluster Munitions are Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, and Turkey.

[17] Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, DRC, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Principe, Somalia, and South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.

[18] Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Mauritius, South Sudan, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.

[19] Republic of South Africa government press release, “Statement on the Cabinet meeting of 4 September,” 5 September 2013, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf19.

[20] Statement of Gabon, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Zambia, 11 September 2013, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf20.

[21] There are 18 States Parties from the Americas: Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

[22] In April 2014, Colombia stated that “inter-ministerial consultations” were taking place on the convention, which is believed to be the final phase of the domestic process before the instrument of accession can be deposited. Statement of Colombia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 7 April 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf22.

[23] Debates of the Senate (Hansard) Volume 148, Issue 125, 4 December 2012, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf23.

[24] House of Commons of Canada, “Bill C-6: An Act to Implement the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf24. After the draft legislation is passed, it will be given royal assent and enter into force, thus enabling Canada to deposit its instrument of ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

[25] Statement of Paraguay, Santiago Regional Workshop on Cluster Munitions, 12 December 2013. Notes by the CMC.

[26] There are 19 non-signatories from Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, North Korea, South Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam) and nine non-signatories from the Pacific (Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu). Six Asia-Pacific non-signatories adopted the convention in Dublin in May 2008: Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Vanuatu. During the Oslo Process, the Marshall Islands, Nepal, and Niue subscribed to the 2008 Wellington Declaration affirming their intent to conclude the negotiation of an instrument prohibiting cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.

[27] The nine States Parties from the Asia-Pacific are Afghanistan, Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Japan, Lao PDR, Nauru, New Zealand, and Samoa.

[28] Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, North Korea, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Tonga, and Tuvalu.

[29] There are 32 States Parties from Europe: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Holy See, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, FYR Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.

[30] Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. EU member state Cyprus has signed but not yet ratified the convention.

[31] The 13 other European and Central Asian non-signatories are: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Estonia, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, and Slovakia joined in the consensus adoption of the convention on 30 May 2008 in Dublin, while Tajikistan subscribed to the 2008 Wellington Declaration affirming its intent to conclude the negotiation of an instrument prohibiting cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.

[32] In April 2014, a Cypriot representative informed the CMC that the ratification process has been put on hold for the next three years because of the country’s financial situation and International Monetary Fund (IMF) restrictions that inhibit Cyprus from spending funds to meet its anticipated stockpile destruction obligations. CMC meeting with Georgeos S. Yiangou, Counsellor, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the UN in Geneva, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 10 April 2014.

[33] In May 2014, a government representative informed the CMC that proposed amendments to the country’s existing penal law would be submitted in parliament in the third quarter of 2014 and could be approved by the end of the year, permitting Iceland to ratify. Icelandic officials have made similar promises every year since 2010 concerning the ratification legislation package.

[34] Explanatory note, “Draft Action Plan for the Implementation of the Commitments of the Slovak Republic under the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” bit.ly/MonitorCMM2014Banf15. Attached in Letter No.590.736/2014-OKOZ from Miroslav Lajčák, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs to Sarah Blakemore, Director, CMC, 25 April 2014.

[35] Letter No.590.736/2014-OKOZ from Miroslav Lajčák, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs to Sarah Blakemore, Director, CMC, 25 April 2014.

[36] The 15 non-signatories from the Middle East and North Africa are: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, and Yemen. Bahrain, Morocco, and Qatar joined in the consensus adoption of the convention at the conclusion of the negotiations in May 2008.

[37] Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

[38] CMC web post, “Palestine announces intention to join cluster bomb ban,” 6 June 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf38.

[39] See the official website for the Convention on Cluster Munitions Third Meeting of States Parties, Oslo, 11–14 September 2012, www.3msp.clusterconvention.org/. The list of participants is available at bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf39.

[40] Statement by Michael Chilufya Sata, President of Zambia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 9 September 2013, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf40.

[41] Convention on Cluster Munitions Lusaka Progress Report, 13 September 2013, bit.ly/MonitorCMMBan14f41.

[42] Members of the CMC from Chile, Argentina, Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico, and Venezuela also participated in the meeting. See CMC web post, “Santiago conference commits to a cluster munition-free zone in Latin America and the Caribbean,”14 December 2013, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf42.

[43] Santiago Declaration and Elements of an Action Plan, presentation by M. Christian Guillermet, Deputy Permanent Representative, Mission Costa Rica to UNOG, Santiago, 13 December 2013, bit.ly/MonitorCMMBanf43.

[44] Benin, Congo, DRC, Djibouti, Guinea, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.

[45] Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia attended. The meeting was supported by Germany, the government of Croatia’s Office for Demining, and the Croatian Mine Action Centre (CROMAC). RACVIAC, “Symposium on Mine Action,” 22–26 April 2014, www.racviac.org/downloads/2014/CSE-01_report.pdf.

[46] Alick Banda, “Kalaba lobbies Mauritius to accede to Convention on Cluster Munitions,” The Independent Observer (Zambia), 6 June 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf46; and “Sign convention on cluster bombs – Kalaba,” Zambia Daily Mail, 6 June 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf46a.

[47] See the website of the Convention on Cluster Munitions Fifth Meeting of States Parties, www.5msp.clusterconvention.org/.

[48] This accounting of states using cluster munitions is incomplete as cluster munitions have been used in other countries, but the party responsible for the use is not clear. This includes in Angola, Azerbaijan, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Somalia, South Sudan, Tajikistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Yemen, and Zambia, as well as Nagorno-Karabakh.

[49] Four non-signatories that stockpile cluster munitions have stated that they have never used the weapons: Estonia, Finland, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates; while another 13 non-signatories with stockpiles are not known to have ever used cluster munitions: Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Belarus, Cuba, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Oman, Qatar, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

[50] Nine of the 16 non-signatories known to produce cluster munitions have stated that they have never used cluster munitions (Brazil, China, Egypt, Greece, South Korea, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, and Turkey), while the Monitor has not verified any use of cluster munitions by four other producer states: India, Iran, North Korea, and Singapore. This leaves Israel, Russia, and the US as the only countries that both produce and use cluster munitions.

[51] In addition to the new use documented by Cluster Munition Monitor 2014 in South Sudan, Syria, and Ukraine, since the Convention on Cluster Munitions took effect in August 2010 new cluster munition use has been recorded in Cambodia and Libya in 2011, in Sudan in 2012, and in Myanmar in 2013, as shown in the Timeline of cluster munition use. None of these states are party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

[52] The use of air-dropped RBK-250-275 cluster bombs and AO-1SCh submunitions has been recorded in both South Sudan and Syria, while the use of 9M55K surface-to-surface rockets containing 9N235 submunitions equipped with self-destruct mechanisms was documented in both Syria and Ukraine in the first half of 2014.

[53] The 9M55K 330mm cluster munition rocket was designed and initially manufactured by the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and then manufactured and exported by the Russian Federal State Unitary Enterprise “SPLAV State Research And Production Association” from 1991 onward. The mass (weight) of the fragments contained in the 9N235 submunitions makes them more powerful and deadly than other types of submunitions. While designed to detonate on impact, each submunition has a back-up pyrotechnic self-destruct feature designed to destroy it two minutes after being ejected from the rocket, but the self-destruct feature appears to have failed to function in some cases documented in Syria. HRW press release, “Syria: New Deadly Cluster Munition Attacks,” 19 February 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14MAf23. A photograph of the submunitions founded with the remnants of 9M55K-series cluster munition rockets used in Ukraine shows that some failed to self-destruct. See Armament Research Services blog, “9M55K cargo rockets and 9N235 submunitions in Ukraine,” 3 July 2104, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf53.

[54] Since 2012, HRW has systematically researched, recorded, and documented the use of cluster munitions in Syria. This Monitor report updates information provided in HRW’s April 2014 research product. See HRW, “Technical Briefing Note: Use of Cluster Munitions in Syria,” 4 April 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf54.

[55] Additionally, ZAB incendiary submunitions delivered by RBK bombs have been used by government forces. However, this type is not accounted for by the Monitor as this type is not considered to be an explosive submunition since the ZAB submunitions ignite after release from its container instead of detonating on, before, or after impact. Therefore they are not covered by the Convention on Cluster Munitions. For further information on Syria’s use of incendiary weapons, see, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf55.

[56] Brown Moses Blog, “Evidence of cluster bombs being deployed in Syria,” 10 July 2012, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf56; HRW press release, “Syria: Evidence of Cluster Munitions Use by Syrian Forces,” New York, 12 July 2012, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf56a.

[57] AO-2.5RT and PTAB-2.5KO submunitions are capable of being loaded into BKF cartridges and dispersed by KMG-U dispensers. The AO-2.5RT submunition can also be delivered by the RBK-500 cluster bomb.

[58] It is not known if the 122mm rockets are SAKR-18 or SAKR-36 variants, which contain 72 and 98 submunitions respectively. The design of the fuze system in this type of submunition makes it very sensitive and submunitions that fail to explode on initial impact are liable to detonate if disturbed. HRW press release, “Syria: Army Using New Type of Cluster Munition,” New York, 14 January 2013, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf58.

[59] Armament Research Services, “9M27K Series Cargo Rockets in Syria,” 22 February 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf59.

[60] HRW stated, “It is highly unlikely that rebel forces could acquire the eight-wheeled, 43,700 kilogram launch vehicle or operate its sophisticated fire control system without significant training or time to conduct practice drills. There is no video evidence or written claims that any rebel group controls any BM-30 launchers, its similarly sized re-supply vehicle, or any 300mm surface-to-surface rockets like the 9M55K rocket.” HRW press release, “Syria: New Deadly Cluster Munition Attacks,” 19 February 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMMMAf18.

[61] Collective Awareness to UXO blog, “AP-39 Syria Unidentified Submunition,” undated, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf61. See also videos posted by Syrian activists at youtu.be/rRGRVM4qaC8 and youtu.be/kdpgLV5FKCE.

[62] See Brown Moses Blog, “The markings on what’s assumed to be a Sakr submunition suggests the designation is ZP39, made in 1993,” 4 April 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf62; and Wareham, Mary (@marywareham), "Meanwhile cluster munitions still used in #Syria - unexploded submunition filmed near Homs: http://t.co/Q6yhCeW70x http://t.co/U28bYPCHxr" 22 Jul 2014, 21:21 UTC, tweet, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf62a.

[63] According to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), “the General Command of the Army and the Armed Forces stressed on [15 October 2012] that the misleading media outlets have recently published untrue news claiming the Syrian Arab Army has been using cluster bombs against terrorists.” According to SANA, “the General Command said the Syrian Army does not possess such bombs.” “Syria denies using cluster bombs,” CNN, 16 October 2012, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf63. In March 2013, Syrian diplomatic representatives denied the evidence of Syrian cluster bomb use. Letter from Firas al Rashidi, Charge d’affair ad interim, Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic to Japan, to the Japanese Campaign to Ban Landmines, 7 March 2013.

[64] A video uploaded to YouTube on 26 March 2014 reportedly of arms captured by government forces from rebel groups shows submunitions prepared for use as IEDs: youtu.be/UTwbnoRQodc.

[65] Countries that have expressed concern at the use of cluster munitions in Syria are from 91 States Parties and signatories (Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Benin, BiH, Botswana, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, DRC, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia FYR, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé e Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, UK, and Uruguay) and 51 non-signatories (Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Dominica, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Gabon, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Latvia, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia FS, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Ukraine, UAE, US, Vanuatu, and Yemen). The Monitor does not count signatories to the Lome regional meeting declaration of May 2013, which expressed concern at the use of cluster munitions in general and was endorsed by 36 African states including Angola, Congo Rep, Eritrea, Mali, Namibia, Niger, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

[66] On 18 December 2013, a total of 127 states voted in favor of UNGA Resolution 68/182 that expressed “outrage” at the Syrian government’s “continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights…including those involving the use of…cluster munitions.” “The situation in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution A/RES/68/182, 18 December 2013, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf66. On 15 May 2013, a total of 107 states voted in favor of UNGA Resolution 67/262 that included a strong condemnation of “the use by the Syrian authorities of...cluster munitions.” “The situation in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution A/67/L.63, 15 May 2013, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf66a.

[67] United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), “Conflict in South Sudan: A Human Rights Report,” 8 May 2014, pp. 26–27, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf67.

[68] “South Sudan has no capacity to use or stockpile cluster bombs; neither do the Ugandan forces who have been assisting with security in South Sudan,” South Sudan government army spokesman Philip Aguer told IBTimes. “The war is not intensive enough to require the use of cluster bombs.” See Jacey Fortin, “The Bad Bomb: Cluster Munitions, Cold Cases And A Case of Blame Game in South Sudan,” International Business Times, 12 March 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf68.

[69] HRW press release, “South Sudan: Investigate New Cluster Bomb Use,” 15 February 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf69.

[70] “Ugandan army won’t take part in cluster bomb investigation,” Sudan Tribune, 19 February 2014, www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article50027.

[71] Statement of UN Secretary-General on South Sudan, New York, 12 February 2014, www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=7455. In May 2014, the UNMAS director informed the CMC that while cluster munitions had been used in South Sudan, it was not possible to determine who was responsible for the use. Email from UNMAS, 13 May 2014.

[72] CMC web page, “Cluster munition use in South Sudan,” undated, but 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf72.

[73] Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement, “Norway condemns use of cluster bombs in South Sudan,” 22 February 2014. bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf73b; statement by Zambia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wylbur C. Simuusa, President of the Fourth Meeting of States Parties of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, 14 February 2014. bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf73

[74] Argentina, Australia, Chad, Chile, Jordan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, and Rwanda. See UN Security Council press statement, “Security Council, Adopting Resolution 2155 (2014), extends mandate of mission in South Sudan,” 27 May 2014, www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2014/sc11414.doc.htm.

[75] Violence erupted in eastern Ukraine following the February 21, 2014 ousting of President Viktor Yanukovich. By mid-March, armed groups initially calling themselves “self-defense units” seized and occupied administrative buildings in several cities, towns, and villages in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Their demands ranged from making Ukraine a federation, to separation of their regions from the rest of Ukraine, to joining Russia. The Ukrainian government’s counter-insurgency operations in these regions has intensified since the country’s 25 May presidential elections and were continuing as Cluster Munition Monitor 2014 went to print.

[76] Armament Research Services blog, “9M55K cargo rockets and 9N235 submunitions in Ukraine,” 3 July 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf53.

[77] 9M27K-series rockets have different submunitions payloads depending on the configuration. The 9M27K contains the 9N210 submunitions, while the 9M27K-1 contains the 9N235 submunition. Visually, the 9N210 and 9N235 look the same and weigh almost the same, but internally the size of the fragments is different as is the timing on the self-destruct feature. See Szlanko, Balint (@balintszlanko), "Cargo rockets, 220mm 9M27K or 300mm 9M55K. Abandoned rebel base in #Slavyansk, prob. fired by Ukrainians. #Ukraine. http://t.co/r7xjG4gwgg" 11 Jul 2014, 07:39 UTC, tweet, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf77; and Armament Research Services blog, “9M27K series cargo rockets used in Ukraine,” 11 July 2104, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf77a.

[78] In 2010, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told CMC representatives that Ukraine would not use cluster munitions except to defend itself from outside aggression. CMC meeting with Ruslan Nimchynskyi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Vientiane, 11 November 2010. Notes by the CMC.

[79] David McHugh, “Troops in Ukraine strike back at rebels; Putin pushes truce,” Associated Press, 5 July 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf79.

[80] “Ukraine used phosphorous incendiaries, cluster bombs against cities – Russian military,” RT, 25 July 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf80.

[81] CMC web post, “Worrying evidence of cluster munition use in Ukraine,” 3 July 2014, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf81; and letter from Sarah Blakemore, Director, CMC to Pavlo Klimkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, 16 July 2014.

[82] Letter No.590.736/2014-OKOZ from Miroslav Lajčák, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs to Sarah Blakemore, Director, CMC, 25 April 2014.

[83] Letter from Miroslav Lajčák, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, 1 October 2009; and Slovakia, “Position paper on the Cluster Munitions,” provided to the CMC by the Embassy of the Slovak Republic to the UK, London, 25 May 2010.

[84] Use of cluster munitions against rebel forces in Syria has been ongoing since 2012. In 2011, Libyan forces of the Gaddafi regime used cluster munitions against rebel forces in Misrata. In August 2008, the government of the separatist territory of Abkhazia asserted that Georgian forces fired large numbers of cluster munitions into the Kodor Valley. Cluster munitions were used in Nagorno-Karabakh sometime between 1992 and 1994 during conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the territory, but it is not known which armed forces used cluster munitions. Moroccan forces used artillery-fired and air-dropped cluster munitions against the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguía el Hamra and Río de Oro (Polisario) in Western Sahara during their conflict from 1975 to 1988.

[85] The loading, assembling, and packaging of submunitions and carrier munitions into a condition suitable for storage or use in combat is considered production of cluster munitions. Modifying the original manufacturers’ delivery configuration for improved combat performance is also considered a form of production.

[86] The list of producers has changed over time as new information has become available. In May 2002, HRW identified a total of 33 states that had produced at least 208 different types of cluster munitions. HRW, “Memorandum to CCW Delegates: A Global Overview of Explosive Submunitions,” 20 May 2002, www.hrw.org/node/66890.

[87] In April 2011, Romania’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs stated, “Romania is not a producer of cluster munition[s].” In August 2011, Turkey said it has not produced cluster munitions since 2005. However, the Monitor continues to list both Romania and Turkey as producers since it is unclear if they have adopted a new policy forswearing any future production of cluster munitions.

[88] Letter No.590.736/2014-OKOZ from Miroslav Lajčák, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs to Sarah Blakemore, Director, CMC, 25 April 2014; and explanatory note, “Draft Action Plan for the Implementation of the Commitments of the Slovak Republic under the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” bit.ly/MonitorCMM2014Banf15. Attached in Letter No.590.736/2014-OKOZ from Miroslav Lajčák, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs to Sarah Blakemore, Director, CMC, 25 April 2014.

[89] Email from Yannis Mallikourtis, Permanent Mission of Greece to the UN in Geneva, 14 June 2011. The Monitor continues to list Greece as a producer as it has not adopted a formal policy renouncing any future production of cluster munitions.

[90] Response to Right to Information request submitted by Control Arms Foundation of India from T.J. Konger, Director and Central Public Information Officer, Ordnance Factory Board, Ministry of Defence, 6 June 2012.

[91] Secretary of Defense William Cohen, “Memorandum for the Secretaries of the Military Departments, Subject: DoD Policy on Submunition Reliability (U),” 10 January 2001. Submunitions that reach “full rate production,” i.e. production for use in combat, during the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2005 and afterward must meet the new standard. However, a waiver was granted for M30 GMRLS rocket submunitions, allowing a 2–4% dud rate. It appears that since the 2001 Cohen policy, a waiver was granted in an Operational Requirements Document approved by the Pentagon’s Joint Requirements Oversight Committee that established a new, higher, hazardous dud requirement for M30 GMLRS rocket DPICM submunitions. This higher dud rate requirement sets a “less that 2% dud rate between ranges of 20-60 kilometers” and “less than 4% dud rate under 20 kilometers and over 60 kilometers.” See Office of the US Army Product Manager, Precision Fires Rocket and Missile Systems, “Briefing on Precision Guided Missiles and Rockets; Self Destruct Fuze Efforts,” February 2007, Slide 2.

[92] Communication from the Ministry of National Defence of Poland to Pax Christi Netherlands, 14 February 2005.

[93] Statement of the Republic of Korea, CCW Meeting of High Contracting Parties, Geneva, 13 November 2008.

[94] Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK did not report on the conversion or decommissioning of production facilities, most likely because production of cluster munitions ceased before they became States Parties to the convention. BiH, which inherited the production capacity of former Yugoslavia, has declared, “There are no production facilities for [cluster munitions] in Bosnia and Herzegovina.” BiH, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form E, 20 August 2011, bit.ly/MonitorCMM14Banf94.

[95] While there is no comprehensive accounting available of global transfers of cluster munitions, at least 15 countries are known to have exported the weapon, including States Parties Chile, France, Germany, Moldova, Spain, and UK, and non-signatories Brazil, Egypt, Israel, Russia, Slovakia, South Korea, Turkey, US, and Yugoslavia.

[96] Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, and the UK, as well as Taiwan.

[97] Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, Georgia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kuwait, Libya, FYR Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Peru, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. In addition, Soviet cluster munition remnants have been identified in South Sudan and Sudan.