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Ireland
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions
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Convention on Cluster Munitions status |
State Party |
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Participation in Convention on Cluster Munitions meetings |
Attended Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut, Lebanon in September 2011 and intersessional meetings in Geneva in April 2012 |
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Key developments |
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Policy
Ireland both signed and ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008, and thus was among the first 30 ratifications that triggered entry into force of the convention on 1 August 2010.
Ireland’s national implementing legislation for the ban convention is the Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act 2008.[1] In April 2009, the Irish Defence Forces issued an instruction to all Irish commanders and staff officers serving overseas laying down “strict parameters for implementation of the Cluster Munitions and Antipersonnel Mines Act, including inter alia directives concerning engagement in military cooperation and operations with states not party to the convention.”[2]
Ireland submitted its annual updated Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report on 30 April 2012, for calendar year 2011.[3]
Ireland was a driving force behind the Oslo Process that produced the Convention on Cluster Munitions and member of the small “Core Group” of nations that took responsibility for steering the process to its successful conclusion. Ireland hosted the formal negotiations of the convention in Dublin in May 2008 and bears a great deal of the responsibility for the successful outcome of the negotiations and the strength of the convention.[4]
Ireland continued to engage in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2011 and the first half of 2012. Ireland participated in the convention’s Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut, Lebanon in September 2011, where it was made a co-coordinator on clearance and risk education together with Lao PDR. Ireland made several statements at the meeting, including on stockpile destruction, retention of cluster munitions, clearance, and the architecture of the convention.
At the convention’s intersessional meetings in Geneva in April 2012, Ireland made several interventions and co-chaired the session on clearance and risk education.
At the Second Meeting of States Parties and intersessional meetings, Ireland said that it continues to take every opportunity to encourage states not party to ratify and/or accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, including though multilateral opportunities, military to military contacts, and diplomatic outreach “even where the signals have been disappointing.”[5] Ireland has continued to provide financial support to the CMC, which works to universalize the ban convention.[6]
Interpretive Issues
Ireland has expressed its views on a number of issues important to the interpretation and implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, including the prohibition on assistance with prohibited acts, the prohibition on transit and foreign stockpiling, and the need for retention of cluster munitions and submunitions for training and development purposes.
With respect to the prohibition on assistance with prohibited acts during joint military operations and the provisions of Article 21 of the convention, Ireland said in March 2009 that “any deliberate assistance in the commission of an act prohibited by the Convention in the context of military co-operation with a state not party will be inconsistent with this obligation to make its best efforts to discourage the use of cluster munitions by the latter and that Article 21(3) must be interpreted accordingly.”[7] Ireland’s national legislation includes a section on implementation of Article 21, which the Department of Foreign Affairs has said “is not to enable assistance with prohibited acts…. Rather, this provision is intended to ensure that no person may be prosecuted for an act or omission that might otherwise constitute assistance but is unintended or inadvertent, or has only a remote or indirect relationship to the commission of a prohibited act by a state not party to the Convention.” [8]
In July 2011, Ireland said with respect to the prohibition on the transit of cluster munitions across, and the foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions on, the territory of States Parties to the convention, that it “recognizes that in any case in which these issues might arise it will be necessary to consider to what extent at all, the provisions of Article 21 of the Convention apply,” adding that “inevitably this may be different in each case.”[9]
Ireland has been a strong proponent for the retention of cluster munitions for training and research, despite not retaining any cluster munitions itself. In November 2010, Ireland said that live cluster munitions are necessary for “the development of render safe procedures, training of personnel, and the calibration of detection equipment.”[10] At the Second Meeting of States Parties in September 2011, Ireland said that live cluster munitions are necessary under the convention, including for “the calibration and testing of … mechanical clearance technologies and protective equipment for clearance personnel.”[11]
Disinvestment
Ireland’s implementing legislation prohibits investment of public money in cluster munitions production, which made Ireland the second country to prohibit investment in cluster munitions and set a leading example for the implementation of the convention.[12] The law contains a clear and unambiguous prohibition on “direct or indirect” investment in cluster munition producers, including producers of components specifically designed for cluster munitions. It stipulates the responsibilities of the investor, including to exercise “due diligence.”[13] Some NGOs have raised concerns about implementation of the law.[14]
In March 2008, upon a specific request from the Irish government, Ireland’s National Pensions Reserve Fund, responsible for financing Ireland’s national pension requirements, announced the withdrawal of €27 million ($39,760,200) from six international companies linked to the production of cluster munitions.[15] Following the enactment of Ireland’s national legislation on the convention, the National Pension Reserve Fund disinvested from another seven companies and rejected four others from future investments, based on their involvement in the production of cluster munitions or antipersonnel mines.[16]
Convention on Conventional Weapons
Ireland is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and played an active role in CCW efforts to negotiate a protocol on cluster munitions, while expressing its “firm view” that the work on cluster munitions should conclude at the Fourth Review Conference.[17]
At the outset of the CCW’s Fourth Review Conference in Geneva in November 2011, Ireland expressed support for the chair’s draft text, but cautioned that a CCW protocol on cluster munitions “must be compatible with and complementary to” the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Ireland said “[W]e continue to have reservations about a number of aspects of the text” and urged “much stronger prohibitions.” It also expressed concern at “the complete exclusion” of some categories of munitions, such as “anti-ship, anti-runway and direct-fire weapons,” and at the inclusion of a lengthy transition period during which prohibited cluster munitions could be used.[18]
During the negotiations, Ireland issued and endorsed several proposals aimed at strengthening provisions of the chair’s draft text. On the final day of the negotiations, Ireland did not however join a group of 50 states that issued a joint statement declaring there was no consensus on the draft protocol and that it was unacceptable from a humanitarian standpoint.[19]
The Review Conference concluded with no agreement on a protocol or proposals to continue negotiations in 2012, thus ending the CCW’s work on cluster munitions.
Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling
Ireland has never used, produced, stockpiled, or transferred cluster munitions.[20]
Retention
According to the transparency reports submitted in 2011 and 2012, Ireland is not retaining any cluster munitions for training.[21]
[1] “Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act 2008, no. 20 of 2008,” Houses of the Oireachtas, www.oireachtas.ie. The law was enacted on 2 December 2008 and came into operation on 8 October 2009. It prohibits the use, development, production, acquisition, possession, and transfer of cluster munitions and explosive bomblets, and contains other provisions to implement the convention, including an explicit prohibition on the investment of public money in cluster munitions producers. Those guilty of offenses may be fined up to €1 million ($1,393,500) and imprisoned up to 10 years. Average exchange rate for 2009: €1=US$1.3935. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 4 January 2010.
[2] All relevant Defence Forces training institutions were also required to include education on the provisions of the convention and national implementation legislation in their training. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form A, 27 January 2011.
[3] Ireland submitted its initial Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report on 27 January 2011, covering the period from 1 August to 31 December 2010.
[4] For more details on Ireland’s cluster munition policy and practice through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 92–97. It has come to light that the US engaged with Ireland significantly during the Oslo Process. In 2011, Wikileaks released several US Department of State reporting cables for the period from January 2007 to November 2008 that show how the US sought to influence Ireland’s engagement in the Oslo Process. One cable dated 6 November 2008 stated, “During the May 19-30 Dublin Cluster Munitions Conference, the Irish played a key role in achieving consensus on a Cluster Munitions Convention that took into the account the concerns that critical ongoing and future peacekeeping collaboration and existing alliances not be disrupted, and that the convention be compatible with the Convention on Conventional Weapons.” See “Scenesetter for visit of Codel Leahy to Ireland,” US Department of State cable 08DUBLIN609 dated 6 November 2008, released by Wikileaks on 26 August 2011, http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=08DUBLIN609&q=cluster%20munitions.
[5] Statement of Ireland, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 16 April 2012, http://www.clusterconvention.org/files/2012/04/16-April_ISU_Ireland.pdf; and Statement of Ireland, Convention on Cluster Munitions Second Meeting of States Parties, Beirut, 16 September 2011, http://www.clusterconvention.org/files/2011/09/univ_ireland.pdf.
[6] Ireland, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form I, 30 April 2012.
[7] Department of Foreign Affairs, “Note on the Measures Taken by Ireland to Implement Article 21 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” 11 March 2009. For a discussion on Ireland’s treatment of interoperability, see Human Rights Watch, “Staying True to the Ban on Cluster Munitions: Understanding the Prohibition on Assistance in the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” June 2009, pp. 14–16.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Email from Alison Kelly, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 27 July 2011.
[10] Statement of Ireland, Convention on Cluster Munitions First Meeting of States Parties, Vientiane, 11 November 2010. Notes by the CMC.
[11] Statement of Ireland, Convention on Cluster Munitions Second Meeting of States Parties, Beirut, 14 September 2011, http://www.clusterconvention.org/files/2011/09/statement_ssd_ireland.pdf.
[12] “Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act 2008, no. 20 of 2008,” Houses of the Oireachtas, www.oireachtas.ie; and Human Rights Watch, “Fulfilling the Ban: Guidelines for Effective National Legislation to Implement the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” June 2010.
[13] “Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act 2008, no. 20 of 2008,” Houses of the Oireachtas, www.oireachtas.ie; and IKV Pax Christi and Netwerk Vlaanderen, “Worldwide investments in cluster munitions; a shared responsibility,” April 2010, pp. 102–103.
[14] For a commentary on the law’s provisions on disinvestment see IKV Pax Christi and Netwerk Vlaanderen, “Worldwide investments in cluster munitions; a shared responsibility,” April 2010, pp. 102–103. Concerns expressed in the report include that exceptions contained in the law permitting the investment in derivative financial instruments based on a financial index could risk weakening the strength of the prohibition, and the law’s lack of application beyond public money. They also called for transparency requirements and the establishment of criteria for determining which companies are involved in the manufacture of cluster munitions or their components.
[15] Deaglán De Bréadún, “Pension fund to remove money from bomb firms,” Irish Times, 17 March 2008; and IKV Pax Christi and Netwerk Vlaanderen, “Worldwide investments in cluster munitions; a shared responsibility,” April 2010, pp. 79–80. Average exchange rate for 2008: €1=US$1.4726. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 4 January 2010.
[16] IKV Pax Christi and Netwerk Vlaanderen, “Worldwide investments in cluster munitions; a shared responsibility,” April 2010, p. 80. In their June 2012 update to the “Worldwide investments” report, IKV Pax Christi and FairFin (formerly Netwerk Vlaanderen) state that the companies on the National Pensions Reserve Fund’s exclusion list in its 2010 annual report were Aerostar, Alliant Techsystems, General Dynamics, Hanwha, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Poongsan, Raytheon, and Singapore Technologies Engineering and Textron. IKV Pax Christi and FairFin, “Worldwide investments in cluster munitions; a shared responsibility,” June 2012, p. 92.
[17] Statement by Amb. Gerard Corr, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the UN in Geneva, CCW Fourth Review Conference, Geneva, 15 November 2011, http://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B8954/(httpAssets)/7E53F9ADF7361388C1257957004873B7/$file/4thRevCon_IRELAND.pdf.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Joint Statement read by Costa Rica, on behalf of Afghanistan, Angola, Austria, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Iceland, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Senegal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe. CCW Fourth Review Conference, Geneva, 25 November 2011. List confirmed in email from Bantan Nugroho, Head of the CCW Implementation Support Unit, UN Department for Disarmament Affairs, 1 June 2012.
[20] Ireland, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2012; Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form J, 27 January 2011; and email from Alma Ní Choigligh, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Section, Department of Foreign Affairs, 5 August 2011.
[21] Ireland, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 27 January 2011; and Ireland, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 30 April 2012.
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