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Sri Lanka
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Sri Lanka has never made a public statement on its policy toward joining the convention.
Sri Lanka participated in one meeting of the Oslo Process that created the convention (Vienna in December 2007) and attended a regional meeting on cluster munitions in November 2009 in Bali, Indonesia. Sri Lanka was invited to, but did not attend, the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010.
Sri Lanka is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty. Sri Lanka is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but has not ratified CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war or actively participated in CCW discussions on cluster munitions.
Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling
There were media reports of Sri Lanka using cluster munitions against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2008 and 2009, but Sri Lanka strongly denied the claims, and there has been no compelling evidence of such use.[1] In October 2009, Sri Lankan Army Commander Lieutenant General J. Jayasuriya stated, “Where the cluster munitions are concerned, I wish to categorically state that such inhumane weapons have never, and will never be used by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces.”[2]
A March 2011 report by a UN panel of experts on Sri Lanka noted Sri Lanka’s denial of use of the weapon and said that it was unable to reach a conclusion on the credibility of the allegation of use of cluster munitions by Sri Lanka.[3]
Sri Lanka has said that it does not possess cluster munitions.[4] The Sri Lankan government’s Media Center for National Security issued the following statement on its website in February 2009: “The Government wishes to clarify that the Sri Lanka army do not use these cluster bombs nor do they have facilities to use them.”[5] The Ministry of Defence website posted a statement saying Sri Lanka never fired cluster munitions and never brought them into the country.[6] In February 2009, a military spokesperson was quoted stating, “We don’t have the facility to fire cluster munitions. We don’t have these weapons.”[7]
Sri Lanka possesses both aircraft and rocket launchers capable of deploying cluster munitions. In February 2009, the CMC wrote a letter to Sri Lankan President Rajapaska asking the government to officially state whether Sri Lanka possesses cluster munitions and to provide “clarification on whether Sri Lanka has imported either cluster bombs for use in Kfir attack aircraft or 122mm cluster rockets for RM-70 rocket launchers.”[8] Sri Lanka did not respond.
[1] See Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Muntions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), p. 242.
[2] Lt.-Gen. J. Jayasuriya said, “During the last stages of the conflict, interested parties have alleged such use in Sri Lanka, with a view to bringing the Government and the Security Forces into disrepute, which allegations are totally unfounded and baseless.” Keynote address by Lt.-Gen. J. Jayasuriya, Sri Lankan Army, International Law on Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War Seminar, Colombo, 27 October 2009. The text of the address was included in “Flow of arms to terrorists must stop,” Daily News, 28 October 2009, www.dailynews.lk.
[3] Report of the Secretary General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka, 31 March 2011, p. 47 (Section G, paras 168–169).
[4] ICBL meeting with Amb. Dr. Palitha T.B. Kohona, and Dilup Nanyakkara, Advisor, Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN, New York, 19 October 2010.
[5] Media Center for National Security, “Government denies the attack on Pudukuduerippu hospital or using cluster bombs,” 4 February 2009, www.nationalsecurity.lk.
[6] Walter Jayawardhana, “UN Spokesman Accepts Sri Lanka Never Had Cluster Bombs,” Ministry of Defence, 5 February 2009, www.defence.lk.
[7] Walter Jayawardhana, “UN Spokesman Accepts Sri Lanka Never Had Cluster Bombs,” Ministry of Defence, 5 February 2009, www.defence.lk.
[8] CMC, “Open Letter to Sri Lanka: Join Convention on Cluster Munitions,” 18 February 2009, www.stopclustermunitions.org.
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