Serbia

The Republic of Serbia has not yet acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, even though it played an important role in the Oslo Process that produced the convention.

Serbia has expressed support for the humanitarian objectives of the convention, but the Ministry of Defense has expressed a number of concerns with respect to the question of Serbia’s accession to the convention.

In a 15 August 2013 letter to Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) member Assistance Advocacy Access–Serbia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Serbia “will continue to be engaged” on the matter because “[a]s representatives of a state whose citizens had been injured and killed by cluster munitions in the course of the armed conflict – with the tragic consequences of this use still present – this presents not just an international legal obligation for us, but also our moral duty.” The letter emphasized the convention’s importance in introducing “new international values and standards in regard of the development, production, possession, use, and stockpiling of this inhumane and dangerous weapon” but did not articulate Serbia’s views on accession.[1]

In a 19 August 2013 letter to the CMC and Assistance Advocacy Access–Serbia, the Ministry of Defense affirmed that cluster munitions are “a part of the weaponry and the equipment necessary for the execution of the missions and tasks” and said the army “has no replacement for this type of munition. Therefore it is not acceptable to risk a reduction of the level of operational capacity of the army, which would be an imminent consequence of the decision to accede to the convention.” The Ministry of Defense said that “long-term modernization plans” include “the acquisition of modern weapons systems and equipment which would replace cluster munitions” but said procurement “has been significantly slowed down” by “the negative effects of the financial crisis.” The letter also expressed concern that a number of countries remain outside the convention.[2] Previously in 2012, senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials informed the CMC that the ministry remains supportive of Serbia’s accession to the convention.[3] In 2011, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative informed the CMC that Serbia’s accession to the convention was being considered and said that Serbia would join “sooner than expected.”[4]

Serbia played a leadership role throughout the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions, most notably by hosting a conference for states affected by cluster munitions in Belgrade in October 2007.[5] It actively participated in the formal negotiations in Dublin in May 2008 and joined in the consensus adoption of the convention text at the conclusion. However, Serbia attended the Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference in Oslo in December 2008 only as an observer, and, at the time, did not provide an explanation for not signing. In 2009, local media reported that the General Staff of the Serbian Army had made a recommendation to the National Security Council that Serbia not sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions, thus stopping all further actions directed toward joining the convention.[6]

Despite not acceding, Serbia has continued to engage in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It participated as an observer in the convention’s Meetings of States Parties in 2011 and 2012, but did not attend the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in Lusaka, Zambia in September 2013. Serbia participated in the convention’s intersessional meetings in Geneva in 2013 and April 2014, but did not make any statements. Serbia was the only non-signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions to participate in a Regional Arms Control Verification and Implementation Assistance Centre (RACVIAC) Centre for Security Cooperation workshop on the Convention on Cluster Munitions held during a mine action symposium in Zadar, Croatia on 22-26 April 2014.[7]

Civil society from Serbia, including cluster munition survivors continue to participate in the convention’s meetings and advocate for Serbia to accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions without delay.

Serbia voted in favor of recent 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 “continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights…including those involving the use of…cluster munitions.”[8]

Serbia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Use

Cluster munitions were used by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) as well as ethnic militias and secessionist forces during the conflicts resulting from the breakup of Yugoslavia starting in 1991.

During the 1998–1999 conflict in Kosovo, aircraft from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States (US) dropped cluster bombs in Serbia and Kosovo during the NATO air campaign.[9] During the Kosovo conflict, forces of the SFRY also launched several cluster rocket attacks into border regions controlled by Albania.

In 2007, Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremić stated that Serbia was considering enacting a unilateral moratorium on the use of cluster munitions.[10] In 2011, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated the proposed moratorium was no longer being discussed as it falls under general discussions on joining the convention.[11]

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

In 2011, the Ministry of Defense stated that the “Republic of Serbia is not a producer of cluster munitions.”[12] In 2009, Serbia stated that it does not have the capacity to produce cluster munitions and has not produced cluster munitions since the dissolution of the SFRY.[13] According to standard reference works, Serbia was thought to have inherited some of those production capabilities.[14] A number of Serbian companies have advertised surface-to-surface rocket launchers, rockets, and artillery that could be used with either unitary warheads or submunitions.[15]

In 2011, the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development informed the Monitor that it has no records in its database of any foreign trade involving cluster munitions in the period from 2005 to 2010.[16]

The precise size and composition of Serbia’s stockpile of cluster munitions is not known, but it is thought to be a large stockpile including air-delivered cluster bombs, ground-launched rockets, and artillery projectiles. Jane’s Information Group lists Serbia as possessing BL755 cluster bombs.[17] Assuming Serbia’s stockpile contains cluster munitions that were produced by the SFRY, it may also possess 120mm M93 mortar projectiles (containing 23 KB-2 submunitions), 152mm 3-O-23 artillery projectiles (containing 63 KB-2 submunitions), and 262mm M87 Orkan surface-to-surface rockets (containing 288 KB-1 submunitions). KB submunitions are the dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) type. It may also possess RAB-120 and KPT-150 cluster bombs.[18]

In August 2013, the Ministry of Defense stated that “the Army of Serbia has taken steps to recall from operational use a part of its cluster munitions stockpile and initiate its disposal” after “taking into consideration the ban on use, the shelf life of cluster munitions, and the limited capacity of the military industry overhaul facilities for repairs and enhancement.”[19]

(Profile last updated August 2014)