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Denmark
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions
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Convention on Cluster Munitions status |
State Party |
|
Implementation legislation |
Military Penal Code and the Arms Act |
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Stockpile destruction |
Completed destruction on 20 March 2014 |
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Participation in Convention on Cluster Munitions meetings |
Attended the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in Zambia September 2013 and intersessional meetings in Geneva in April 2014 |
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Key developments |
Condemned Syria’s use of cluster munitions and provided an updated transparency report in April 2014 declaring completion of the stockpile destruction |
Policy
The Kingdom of Denmark signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified on 12 February 2010. It was among the first 30 ratifications to trigger entry into force of the convention on 1 August 2010.[1]
Denmark has cited the 2009 parliamentary motion approving ratification under national implementation measures in its Article 7 reports and has indicated that specific implementation legislation is not necessary because penal sanctions for violations of the convention are imposed under the Military Penal Code. The Defence Command has provided instructions on implementation of the convention.[2]
Denmark submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 27 January 2011 and has provided annual updates ever since, most recently on 4 April 2014.[3]
Denmark participated in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and its position shifted significantly to the point that it was able to adopt the convention at the conclusion of the negotiations in Dublin in May 2008.[4] Denmark’s swift ratification of the convention and the early completion of stockpile destruction demonstrate its strong commitment to the convention.
Denmark has continued to actively engage in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions since 2008. It has participated in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention, including the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in Lusaka, Zambia in September 2013, where it gave a detailed presentation on its stockpile destruction process.[5] Denmark also highlighted the importance of “continued fruitful cooperation” with the CMC and its Danish members.[6]
Denmark has attended every intersessional meeting of the convention in Geneva, including in April 2014, where it announced the completion of stockpile destruction a month earlier (see section on Stockpile and destruction). Denmark has used its experience in destroying its cluster munitions stockpile ahead of deadline and below budget to urge more nations to accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. In September 2013, it said “we have a message to countries hesitating to join…due to financial concerns” and explained that the costs of destroying the stockpile of cluster munitions “turned out to be only 1 EUR per bomblet, which is far less than anticipated.”[7]
Denmark announced the completion of the destruction of its stockpile of cluster munitions on 20 March 2014. In a statement, Minister of Foreign Affairs Martin Lidegaard said the achievement “sends a strong signal to the world” that “cluster bombs are vile, inhumane weapons, which all countries should get rid of as soon as possible.” He said, “Our work does not end here. All states outside the Convention on Cluster Munition[s] must join the convention in order to ensure a total and global ban.” Lidegaard thanked the CMC and pledged that Denmark will continue to work in “close partnership…in our joint efforts towards a world free from cluster bombs.”[8]
Denmark’s Minister of Defence Nicolai Wammen also expressed the government’s commitment to the convention and remarked that “it is a positive and clear signal to the world that Denmark has taken a lead so quickly – over four years early – and completed the destruction of our cluster munitions.”[9]
Denmark first spoke out against Syria’s cluster munition use in October 2012, with a statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, that described reports of use as “extremely worrying” and urged the Syrian government to “immediately and fully refrain from using such inhumane and indiscriminate weapons.”[10] In September 2013, an official stated that, “Denmark condemns all use of cluster munitions and calls on all states not parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions to join the convention…without delay. There are no other solutions to the humanitarian consequences of cluster munitions than a total and universal ban.”[11]
Denmark has voted in favor of UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions condemning the Syrian government’s use of cluster munitions, including Resolution 68/182 on 18 December 2013, which expressed “outrage” at Syria’s “continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights…including those involving the use of…cluster munitions.”[12]
Danish NGOs have continued to support the Convention on Cluster Munitions. During the World Cup Football tournament in June and July 2014, DanChurchAid undertook a campaign initiative aimed at encouraging Brazil to stop its production and export of cluster bombs and join the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[13]
Interpretive issues
Denmark’s ratification instrument provided 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.”[14]
Denmark has reported that its Defence Command has issued instructions that stipulate “limitations on the possibilities to co-operate with nations who have not signed the convention.”[15]
In July 2013, Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Monitor that “according to Article 21 (3), States Parties and their military personnel or nationals are eligible to participate in military cooperation and military operations with States not party to the convention. This does not, however, alter the obligation of States Parties themselves to not stockpile or transfer cluster munitions, as specified by Article 21(4b).”[16]
Denmark has not indicated if it views transit and foreign stockpiling as prohibited by the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
On 27 May 2013, Denmark announced that the government would work toward achieving a ban on investment in cluster munition production and requested that the Danish Council on Social Responsibility provide recommendations on how a legal prohibition on investment in weapons subject to international arms conventions, such as cluster munitions and landmines, could be undertaken.[17] The announcement reversed Denmark’s previous policy articulated in 2010 that opposed a prohibition on investment in companies involved in the production of cluster munitions.[18] In September 2010, the Ministry of Economics and Business Affairs published a “Guide on Responsible Investment” that described mandatory disinvestment as an “emergency solution.”[19]
In September 2013, Denmark informed States Parties that the government was “investigating the possibilities nationally for further engaging private investors in pursuing the objectives of the [Convention on Cluster Munitions]” and said the Council on Social Responsibility had been asked to provide “recommendations on requirements and possibilities to effectively strengthen efforts for responsible investment” in relation to the convention.[20] On 13 March 2014, the Council on Social Responsibility delivered its report on responsible investment and arms conventions, which did not recommend a mandatory prohibition on investment in cluster munitions producers.[21] The Council’s NGO members strongly opposed the lack of support for disinvestment from cluster munitions production.[22]
Denmark is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Use, production, and transfer
Denmark has declared that it has not produced cluster munitions.[23] Denmark is not known to have used or exported cluster munitions.
Stockpile destruction
Denmark once possessed a stockpile of 42,181 cluster munitions of three types and 2,452,699 submunitions, as shown in the table below.[24]
Cluster munitions formerly stockpiled by Denmark[25]
|
Type of munition |
Quantity of munitions |
Quantity of submunitions |
|
DM642 155mm artillery projectiles, each containing 63 DPICM* submunitions |
27,536 |
1,732,968 |
|
DM662 155mm artillery projectiles, each containing 49 DPICM submunitions |
14,625 |
714,791 |
|
Mk-20 Rockeye cluster bombs, each containing 247 Mk118 submunitions |
20 |
4,940 |
|
Total |
42,181 |
2,452,699 |
* DPICM = dual purpose improved conventional munition
Under Article 3 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Denmark was required to declare and destroy all stockpiled cluster munitions under its jurisdiction and control as soon as possible, but no later than 1 August 2018.
Denmark announced that the completion of the stockpile destruction on 20 March 2014, more than four years in advance of the treaty-mandated deadline.[26] Denmark informed states of the completion of stockpile destruction at the intersessional meetings in April 2014.[27]
Denmark also declared the completion of stockpile destruction in its April 2014 Article 7 report. According to the report, the DM642 and DM662 155mm artillery projectiles were destroyed by the Danish company DENEX at its facility in Frederikshavn through a process of disassembly and incineration that was completed on 13 December 2013. The Mk-20 Rockeye cluster bombs were transferred to Spain where they were destroyed by Spanish company EXPAL at its facility in a process that was completed on 24 January 2014. The Article 7 report annexes copies of certificates of destruction from DENEX and EXPAL and included detailed flow charts showing how the destruction process was undertaken as well as the safety and environmental standards observed.[28]
Denmark has estimated the total cost of destruction at approximately €2.3 million, which equates to less than €1 per bomblet.[29] This is significantly lower than the initial destruction estimate provided in 2009 of up to DKK250 million (US$46.7 million).[30]
Retention
In May 2013 and April 2014, Denmark declared that it is retaining a total of 3,634 submunitions for training and research purposes permitted under the convention: 1,800 DM1383 and 1,834 DM1385 DPICM submunitions (the submunitions were removed from 155mm artillery projectiles).[31] The amount is significantly lower than the estimated number of cluster munitions that Denmark previously said would be retained.[32] Denmark has stated that the retained submunitions have been separated from their shells and stored in carbon tubes and, as such, are not operational.[33]
According to the April 2014 report, no submunitions were consumed in the course of training in 2013.[34]
[1] Denmark submitted a formal declaration with its ratification instrument stating that the convention did not apply to Denmark’s territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, but that it may, by unilateral declaration of the government, apply at a later date. This was done to respect the limited self-governance agreements with the territories with the aim of removing the exemptions as soon as the local decision-making processes were completed. On 12 February 2010, the convention was extended to cover Greenland. Danish territorial control does not include the United States (US) Thule Air Base in Greenland. Meeting with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence officials, Copenhagen, 25 March 2010.
[2] The Arms Act prohibits, without permission from the Minister of Justice, the possession, acquisition, and transfer of grenades, bombs, mines, or similar devices. The Military Penal Code will allow punishment for the willful use of cluster munitions in armed conflicts. Use of cluster munitions outside of armed conflicts will be punishable under the military criminal law on breach of duty pursuant to the Military Penal Code. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form A, 27 January 2011. See also, Folketinget (Danish Parliament), “B60 Proposal for a parliamentary resolution on Denmark’s adoption of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, signed on 4 December 2008 in Oslo,” 19 November 2009.
[3] Annual time periods are covered by the Article 7 reports provided on 27 January 2011 (for calendar year 2010), 30 April 2012 (for calendar year 2011), 3 May 2013 (for calendar year 2012), and 4 April 2014 (for calendar year 2013).
[4] For more details on Denmark’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. 68–71.
[5] Presentation by Maj. Kim Willum Guldbech, Liaison and Verification Branch, Defence Command Denmark, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 11 September 2013.
[6] Statement of Denmark, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 10 September 2013.
[7] Statement of Denmark, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 10 September 2013; and presentation by Maj. Kim Willum Guldbech, Defence Command Denmark, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 11 September 2013.
[8] Udenrigsministeriet (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Press release, “Danmark går forrest og skrotter klyngebomberne” (“Denmark leads global disarmament, destroys cluster munitions”), 20 March 2014. Denmark quoted his remarks in a statement at the intersessional meetings in 2014. Statement of Denmark, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 8 April 2014. See also Christian Wenande, “Denmark dismantles last cluster bombs,” The Copenhagen Post, 20 March 2014.
[9] Udenrigsministeriet (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Press release, “Danmark går forrest og skrotter klyngebomberne” (“Denmark leads global disarmament, destroys cluster munitions”), 20 March 2014.
[10] Denmark said it raised its concerns at Syrian cluster munition use at a meeting of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 15 October 2012. Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release, “Denmark condemns the use of cluster munitions in Syria,” 18 October 2012.
[11] Statement of Denmark, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 10 September 2013. In October 2012, Denmark first spoke out against Syria’s cluster munition use. Denmark’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Villy Søvndal, issued a statement describing new research by Human Rights Watch on civilian casualties from cluster munitions as “extremely worrying” and said, “The Syrian government must protect the civilian population and immediately and fully refrain from using such inhumane and indiscriminate weapons.” According to the statement, Søvndal also raised Denmark’s concerns over Syrian cluster munition use at a meeting of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 15 October. Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release, “Denmark condemns the use of cluster munitions in Syria,” 18 October 2012. Villy Søvndal, who became Denmark’s Minister for Foreign Affairs in October 2011, was an early supporter of a total ban on cluster munitions. See, DanChurch Aid, “Cluster Bombs: Effective Weapon or Humanitarian Foe? Conference Documentation, 18 March 2004,” p. 38.
[12] “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution A/RES/68/182, 18 December 2013. Denmark voted in favor of a similar resolution on 15 May 2013.
[13] DanChurchAid, “Join the Team, Brazil!,” 19 June 2014.
[14] Folketinget (Danish Parliament), “B60 Proposal for a parliamentary resolution on Denmark’s adoption of the Convention on cluster munitions, signed on 4 December 2008 in Oslo,” 19 November 2009.
[15] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Reports, Form A, 5 May 2013, 30 April 2012, and 27 January 2011.
[16] Danish original: “Ifølge konventionens artikel 21, stk. 3, er de kontraherende stater og disses militærpersonel eller statsborgere berettigede til at deltage i militært samarbejde og militære operationer med stater, som ikke deltager i denne konvention. Dog gælder det, at der ikke heraf følger nogen adgang for konventionsstater til selv at oplagre eller overføre klyngeammunition, jf. artikel 21, stk. 4, litra b).” Email from Adam Ravnkilde, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4 July 2013.
[17] Ministry of Business and Growth press release, “Annette Vilhelmsen: Det bør være forbudt at investere i klyngevåben og landminer” (“Annette Vilhelmsen: It should be prohibited to invest in cluster bombs and landmines”), 27 May 2013.
[18] Parliamentary debate concerning question S 620, 13 January 2010. On 11 January 2010, the Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs stated that mandatory regulation of investment could limit voluntary engagement by investors and 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. Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs, “Clarifying questions from the Defence Committee regarding proposals for parliamentary resolution prohibiting investment, production and trade with cluster weapons (B 173),” 11 January 2010. In September 2010, the Ministry of Economics and Business Affairs published a “Guide on Responsible Investment” that described mandatory disinvestment as an “emergency solution.” “Vejledning om ansvarlige investeringer ” (“Guide on Responsible Investments”), September 2010, forward by Brian Mikkelsen, Minister of Economics and Business Affairs, pp. 3–4.
[19] “Vejledning om ansvarlige investeringer” (“Guide on Responsible Investments ”), September 2010, forward by Brian Mikkelsen, Minister of Economics and Business Affairs, pp. 3–4. Denmark has reported that the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and the Danish Guide on Responsible Investment “demand all investors to respect international norms and conventions” such as the Convention on Cluster Munitions. As of September 2010, 24 Danish investors had signed the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form A, 27 January 2011.
[20] Statement of Denmark, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 10 September 2013.
[21] Rådet For Samfundsansvar, (Council on Social Responsibility), “Ansvarlige Investeringer Og Konventionsomfattede Våben” (“Responsible Investment and Arms Conventions,”), March 2014.
[22] Elias C. Lundström, “Nej til forbud mod klyngebomber” (“No to ban on cluster munitions”), Jyllands-Posten, 13 March 2014.
[23] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form E, 27 January 2011.
[24] This total includes five additional DM642 155mm projectiles discovered in 2013. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Reports, Form B, 4 April 2014, 3 May 2013, 30 April 2012, and 27 January 2011.
[25] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Reports, Form B, 30 April 2012, and 27 January 2011. In its May 2013 Article 7 report, Denmark reported that an additional 531 DM642 projectiles had been discovered and that previously reported total of 27,000 DM642 projectiles had been revised to total 27,531. Denmark also reported that the previously reported total of 15,000 DM662 projectiles had been amended to 14,625, which represented “the entire stock, despite the previously reported holding of 15.000 shells.”
[26] Udenrigsministeriet (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Press release, “Danmark går forrest og skrotter klyngebomberne” (“Denmark Takes the Lead and Destroys Cluster Bombs”), 20 March 2014.
[27] Statement of Denmark, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 8 April 2014.
[28] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 4 April 2014.
[29] Statement of Denmark, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 8 April 2014.
[30] Folketinget (Danish Parliament), “B60 Proposal for a parliamentary resolution on Denmark’s adoption of the Convention on cluster munitions, signed on 4 December 2008 in Oslo,” 19 November 2009. Average exchange rate for 2009: DKK5.3574=US$1. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 6 January 2011.
[31] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 3 May 2013.
[32] In November 2010, Denmark stated its intent to retain 170 cluster munitions for training explosive ordnance disposal personnel. In April 2012, Denmark stated that while the process of identifying the precise number of cluster munitions necessary was still ongoing, “current indications are that the final number is expected to be significantly lower than initially announced.” See statement of Denmark, Convention on Cluster Munitions First Meeting of States Parties, Vientiane, 9 November 2010. Notes by the CMC; and statement of Denmark, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 18 April 2012.
[33] Statement of Denmark, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 8 April 2014; and presentation by Maj. Kim Willum Guldbech, Danish Defence Command, Convention on Cluster Munitions Third Meeting of States Parties, Oslo, 13 September 2012.
[34] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 4 April 2014.
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