About Us
Our Research Products
Liechtenstein
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
The Principality of Liechtenstein signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008.
In May 2012, a Liechtenstein official informed the Monitor that there was no change in the government's progress towards ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2011 or the first half of 2012.[1] Liechtenstein is not in a position to ratify the convention until neighboring Switzerland does so.
Upon signing the convention in 2008, Liechtenstein pledged to ratify “at the earliest possible date,” but in 2009 subsequently stated that, due to its Customs Union Treaty with Switzerland, it cannot ratify until Switzerland has enacted legal implementation measures and ratified the convention.[2] In May 2011, a representative of the Office for Foreign Affairs confirmed that Liechtenstein would ratify shortly after Switzerland.[3]
In May 2011, the Office for Foreign Affairs stated that for ratification of international conventions that are not self-executing, “the Liechtenstein practice first wants the internal legislation to be adopted before these conventions are ratified….”[4] Previously, in 2010, Liechtenstein stated that “a ratified agreement becomes part of national law from the date of entry into force, without the adoption of a special law being necessary, as long as the provisions of the agreement are specific enough to serve as a basis for decision.”[5]
Liechtenstein participated in the Oslo Process that created the convention.[6] It has not attended any meetings related to the convention since 2010, such as the Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut, Lebanon in September 2011.
Liechtenstein has not stated its views regarding interpretive matters under the convention. For example, it has not stated its views on the transit of cluster munitions across, or foreign stockpiling of, cluster munitions on national territory of states parties, on assistance with prohibited acts under the convention, or on investment in cluster munitions production.
Liechtenstein is a party to the Mine Ban Treaty.
Convention on Conventional Weapons
Liechtenstein is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and participated in the CCW Fourth Review Conference in November 2011.
Liechtenstein did not comment on the chair’s draft text of the proposed CCW protocol on cluster munitions, but on the final day of the conference it joined a group of 50 countries in endorsing a joint statement declaring that the chair’s draft text does not fully address fundamental concerns and is unacceptable from a humanitarian standpoint, and therefore does not command consensus.[7]
The Review Conference ended without agreement on a draft protocol, thus marking the conclusion of the CCW’s work on cluster munitions.
Production, transfer, use, and stockpiling
Liechtenstein has stated that it has never used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions.[8]
[1] Email from Esther Schindler, Office for Foreign Affairs, 10 May 2012.
[2] Letter from Christine Stehrenberger, Deputy Director, Office for Foreign Affairs, 10 February 2009. Due to the longstanding Customs Union Treaty with Switzerland, the import and export of goods in Liechtenstein is governed by Swiss legislation. In order for Liechtenstein and Switzerland to incorporate national implementation of the convention into legislation, “an amendment of the Swiss Federal Act on War Material (Schweizerisches Kreigsmaterialgesetz), which is to a large extent applicable to Liechtenstein, will be necessary.” Upon signing, Liechtenstein pledged “the ratification of this treaty at the earliest possible date.” Statement by Daniel Ospelt, Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the Council of Europe, Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference, Oslo, 3 December 2008.
[3] Email from Schindler, Office for Foreign Affairs, 26 May 2011.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Letter from Amb. Norbert Frick, Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the UN in Geneva, 7 April 2010.
[6] For details on Liechtenstein’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), p. 109.
[7] 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.
[8] Letter from Amb. Frick, Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the UN in Geneva, 7 April 2010; and email from Schindler, Office for Foreign Affairs, 26 May 2011.
Send us your feedback on this profile
Send the Monitor your feedback by filling out this form. Responses will be channeled to editors, but will not be available online. Click if you would like to send an attachment. If you are using webmail, send attachments to .