Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Policy

The Kingdom of Denmark signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo on 3 December 2008. Parliament approved ratification of the convention on 17 December 2009.[1] Denmark deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN on 12 February 2010.[2] It was the 28^th signatory to do so, and thus was among the first 30 ratifications, triggering entry into force of the convention on 1 August 2010.

The Parliamentary motion approving ratification 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 its Military Penal Code.[3]

Denmark continued to engage in the work of the convention in 2009 and 2010. It attended the Berlin Conference on the Destruction of Cluster Munitions in June 2009, where it provided an update on its ratification process and assured states that it will destroy its stocks in a timely fashion.[4] It also participated in the International Conference on the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Santiago, Chile in June 2010.

Denmark participated from the beginning in the Oslo Process that produced the convention. Initially, it did not support a comprehensive prohibition on cluster munitions and consistently expressed strong reservations about the process and the convention text. However, Denmark’s position shifted significantly from 2006 to 2008, and it adopted the convention at the conclusion of the negotiations in Dublin in May 2008.[5] Denmark’s rapid ratification of the convention is demonstrative of the considerable change in Danish policy on cluster munitions.

Interpretive issues

Denmark has yet to make known 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 provides 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.”[6]  

Disinvestment

For several years Danish NGOs have been calling for Danish financial institutions to stop investing in companies that produce cluster munitions. According to a December 2009 report, of the ten largest Danish pension funds and ten largest Danish banks, only one had maintained its investments in cluster munitions, while another was still in the process of selling off its shares in cluster munition producing companies.[7]

On 14 April 2009, the opposition Socialist People’s Party submitted a motion calling for a ban on investments in companies involved in the production of cluster munitions. The motion was referred to the Defense Committee, which produced a report in October 2009 stating that, under the terms of the convention, it would be prohibited under certain specified circumstances for the Danish government and municipalities to invest in companies producing cluster munitions.[8]

On 11 January 2010, the Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs reported that it considered mandatory regulation of investment to be counterproductive as it could limit voluntary engagement by investors. It stated that a ban on investment in cluster munitions producers could affect the ability of Danish companies to follow UN Principles for Responsible Investment and active ownership. It raised concerns about difficulties in determining an objective and exhaustive list of producers, in light of the likelihood of cluster munitions being produced by large companies that deal with other types of production activities.[9]

On 13 January 2010, during a parliamentary debate, the Danish government stated its opposition to a prohibition on investment in cluster munition producing companies.[10] It said that the Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs was preparing a non-mandatory set of guidelines on responsible investment, which is expected to be published by summer 2010.[11] An inter-ministerial working group has been established to work on the issue.[12]

Convention on Conventional Weapons

Denmark is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. In 2010, Danish officials stated that Denmark will continue to support the CCW process to develop and adopt a protocol on cluster munitions, in order to reach an agreement that could bring on board major producers who have not so far joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The officials expressed some uncertainty as to the compatibility between standards under the Convention on Cluster Munitions and those which could be agreed in a CCW protocol.[13]

In the past, Denmark has been a staunch supporter of CCW work on cluster munitions, and served as the chair of the deliberations in 2008. The motion approving ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions noted, “Negotiations within the UN in the CCW are distinguished by the fact that even the big stockpiling and producing countries (like USA, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, South Korea and others) participate. These countries are believed to have around 90% of world stocks of cluster munitions, which however are not covered by the Oslo Convention [Convention on Cluster Munitions]. This group of countries has categorically rejected such a stringent regulation as imposed by the Oslo Convention, and did not participate in its negotiation. These countries have also indicated that they do not in the future intend to join the Convention. The practical effect of this convention is thus weakened by the fact that the most important countries—in terms of production and use of cluster weapons—are not and cannot be expected to become parties to the Oslo Convention.”^[14]

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

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

Denmark has reported that its stockpile of cluster munitions consists of approximately 27,000 DM642 artillery projectiles, each containing 63 dual purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) submunitions; approximately 15,000 DM662 Base Bleed (extended range) artillery projectiles, each containing 49 DPICM submunitions; approximately 20 MK20 Rockeye cluster bombs; and approximately 300 M726 cluster munitions.[15]

Denmark estimated that destruction of the DM642 and DM662 cluster munitions would cost approximately DKK5,000–6,000 (US$933–1,120) per munition, or approximately DKK210 million–250 million ($39.2 million–46.7 million) total. It estimated it would cost approximately DKK15 million ($2.8 million) to destroy “all manufactured parts” for Multiple Launch Rocket System cluster munitions.[16] Some or all of the Rockeyes will be retained for training purposes.[17]

Denmark’s 2010–2014 Defence Agreement, dated June 2009, states that destruction will begin “when the preconditions for such destruction are fulfilled,” and not before 2014. It notes that the cost of destruction is expected to fall over time as the international market evolves.[18]

The 2010–2014 Defence Agreement stated that cluster munitions for artillery and rocket launchers had been removed from operational use.[19] In 2005, the Ministry of Defense stated, “No [air-dropped] cluster bombs…are in service with the Danish Armed Forces” and “no ground-launched cluster munitions is currently in service with the Danish Armed Forces.” It said that Denmark had retired its inventory of US-produced Rockeye cluster bombs,[20] while retaining a small number for training of explosive ordnance disposal personnel. It also said it had removed from service 155mm Improved Conventional Munitions (ICM) and ICM Base Bleed (extended range) artillery projectiles with submunitions.[21] Denmark later said it had decided to take its DM662 artillery cluster munitions out of service and destroy them because of tests showing them to be highly unreliable.[22]

Retention

Denmark stated in its ratification document that it will retain “some” cluster munitions for the purposes of training demining personnel, and specifically that some Rockeye cluster bombs will be retained.[23] In March 2010, Ministry of Defense officials said that Denmark was determining which other munitions might be retained, but noted that the amount should be comparable to the number of Rockeye cluster bombs retained.[24]