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Sweden
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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Implementing legislation |
Act 179: Penalties for Illicit Dealing with Cluster Munitions (4 April 2012) |
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Stockpile destruction |
Destruction is expected to be completed by the end of 2014 |
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Participation in Convention on Cluster Munitions meetings |
Attended Fourth Meeting of States Parties in Lusaka, Zambia in September 2013 and intersessional meetings in Geneva in April 2014 |
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Key developments |
Provided an updated transparency report in April 2014 |
Policy
The Kingdom of Sweden signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008, ratified on 23 April 2012, and the convention entered into force for the country on 1 October 2012.
Law 179 on “Penalties for Illicit Dealing with Cluster Munitions” enacted on 4 April 2012 serves as Sweden’s implementing legislation for the ban convention and provides sanctions for violations.[1] In September 2013, Sweden gave a presentation to States Parties detailing how the Swedish Armed Forces are implementing the convention’s provisions.[2]
Sweden submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 25 March 2013 and provided an annual updated report on 25 April 2014.[3]
Sweden actively engaged in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and its position changed considerably to support the adoption of the convention in Dublin in May 2008. Sweden decided to sign the convention in Oslo in December 2008, although apparently only after hesitation and deliberation over the cost implications of destroying its stockpile of cluster munitions.[4]
Sweden has continued to 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 provided an update on stockpile destruction. Sweden has attended all of the convention’s intersessional meetings in Geneva, including those held in April 2014.
Since 2012, Sweden has served as co-coordinator of the convention’s work on international cooperation and assistance together with Mexico until September 2013 and with Chile since then.
Despite a 2012 Foreign Affairs Committee report recommendation that the government strive for universalization of the convention, Sweden has shown little interest in promoting the convention.[5] During a Swedish parliament discussion on foreign policy on 9 December 2013, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt stated that “At a large cost, Sweden got rid of a functioning attack weapons system for our defense, but hardly any of the major cluster munitions stockpiling countries have done the same. It is clear that this can be done as effective policy, if you believe in it. We have advocated for a broader coalition in order to negotiate with cluster munition stockpiling countries and achieve greater progress there, and I hope this will still be possible.”[6]
Sweden has not made a national statement expressing concern at Syria’s use of cluster munitions. In December 2012, the Minister for Foreign Affairs refused to publicly condemn Syria’s use of cluster munitions and stated, “there are clear indications that the Syrian regime is using other weapons that can cause great suffering amongst civilian populations, namely, landmines, and the EU [European Union] has expressed its strong condemnation of the use of these types of weapons.”[7]
However, Sweden has 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 Syria’s “continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights…including those involving the use of…cluster munitions.”[8]
Sweden is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty.
Interpretive issues
Sweden has expressed its views on certain important issues related to interpretation and implementation of the convention.
On the prohibition on assistance with prohibited acts in joint military operations, a 2011 government report states that .one as effective policy, if you believe in it. We participate in military cooperation and military operations with states not party to the Convention and which may engage in activities that are prohibited for a State Party. This does not imply any right of States Parties in these situations to violate the obligations of Article 1 of the convention or to explicitly request that cluster munitions shall be used in situations where the State Party has exclusive control over the selection of the munition used.”[9]
Sweden’s 2011 ratification legislation elaborates the government’s views that “it should initially be stressed that the risk of cluster munitions being used in international peacekeeping missions where Sweden contributes ought to be limited” and that “the government considers that the provisions in Articles 21(3) and 21(4) reflect a relatively clear consideration of the two interests at hand, on the one hand the interest of upholding the prohibition in the convention, also in the case of military cooperation, and on the other hand, the interest of not hindering this cooperation.”[10]
The 2011 government report also noted that in relation to Article 1(1)(c) of the convention on the prohibition of assistance, encouragement, or inducement of any act prohibited by the convention, such acts would be essentially regarded as “incitement” or “complicity” under chapter 23 of Sweden’s penal code. The report, therefore, holds that no specific domestic regulations are necessary to meet this obligation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[11]
A 2012 parliamentary report articulates the views of the government on the issues of transit of cluster munitions and investment in cluster munition production.[12] According to the report, Sweden does not consider the transit of cluster munitions across the territory of States Parties to be prohibited under the convention, but any allegations or complaints in this regard shall be put forward to the national courts for decision.[13]
Sweden has not made an explicit statement on the issue of the prohibition on foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions. However, in the 2011 ratification package, the government stated that “stockpiling, transport, and other handling of cluster munitions could occur in the occasion of military cooperation with states that are not parties to the convention, typically when the latter has a military base, a military ship, or aircraft on the territory of a state party. These activities could also occur during an international mission where military forces from many nations take part and where weapons and ammunition are supplied through common logistical functions.”[14]
Disinvestment
The 2012 parliamentary report expresses the Swedish government’s view that the Convention on Cluster Munitions does not prohibit the investment in cluster munition production. According to the report, Sweden does not see the need for additional legislation prohibiting investment in companies that produce, but it believes it is important that ethical investment strategies are developed.[15]
In 2011 and 2012, the Green Party (Miljöpartiet), the Left Party (Vänsterpartiet), and the Social Democrats submitted several parliamentary motions to prohibit transit and investment, but the motions were rejected.[16]
Since the convention was adopted in May 2008, several Swedish financial institutions have taken action to disinvest from companies involved in the production of cluster munitions. A June 2012 report on worldwide investment in cluster munition production by IKV Pax Christi and FairFin listed Sweden in its top 10 countries with financial institutions ranked in a “hall of fame” for their policies on disinvesting from companies producing cluster munitions.[17] In 2013, another Swedish financial institution, Swedbank, was added to the list of Swedish financial institutions with guidelines on prohibiting investment in cluster munitions production.[18]
Use, production, and transfer
According to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, “Sweden has never used or transferred cluster munitions as defined in the Convention [on Cluster Munitions].”[19]
Sweden’s Article 7 report listed two former producers in the section on the conversion or decommissioning of production facilities.[20] Both were involved in the production of one type of cluster munition, the Bombkapsel BK-M90 Mjölner, which contains MJ-1 fragmentation bomblets and MJ-2 anti-armor proximity-fuzed bomblets.[21] For SAAB Aerotech, the Article 7 report declared: “No conversion or decommissioning needed. Existing tools are used for the dismantling.” For EADS/LFK it stated: “The final delivery of BK M90 to the Swedish Armed Forces was done 1997 by EADS/LFK. EADS/LFK is informed that BK M90/DWS39 is phased out and all specific production tools can be disposed.”
Stockpiling and destruction
Sweden once stockpiled a total of 370 BK-M90 cluster munitions containing 20,595 submunitions of two types (17,660 MJ-1 submunitions and 2,935 MJ-2 submunitions).[22] The BK-M90 cluster munitions were procured by the Swedish Armed Forces in 1992.[23] The cluster munitions had been separated from operational munitions and marked for the purpose of destruction.[24]
After destruction efforts, as of 31 December 2013 Sweden’s remaining stockpile consisted of 79 BK-M90 cluster munitions and 20,595 submunitions.[25] This represents the destruction of 79% of the cluster munitions stockpile, but no explosive submunitions had been destroyed as of the end of 2013.
Under Article 3 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Sweden is required to declare and destroy all stockpiled cluster munitions under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 October 2020.
Sweden has stated on several occasions that it intends to complete destruction of the stockpile by 31 December 2014.[26]
As of 31 December 2013, Sweden had destroyed a total of 291 BK-M90 cluster munition dispensers (111 BK-M90 cluster munitions before the 1 October 2012 entry into force of the convention for Sweden and another 180 BK-M90 dispensers after entry into force).[27] In September 2013, Sweden informed States Parties that the munitions are being dismantled and destroyed at three locations in the country: the BK-M90 cluster munition is being dismantled at SAAB Aerotech’s facilities in Arboga; its metallic hull and ejection modules are being sent to the company Kuusakoski in Skelleftehamn for defragmentation; and the batteries are being activated, discharged, and sent to the company Sakab AB in Kumla for final storage.[28]
As of 31 December 2013, none of the MJ-1 or MJ-2 submunitions had been destroyed.[29] In September 2013, Sweden said that a contract for destruction of “all parts containing explosives will be signed when all explosive devices are gathered.”[30]
Retention
In its initial Article 7 report provided in March 2013, Sweden declared that it is retaining 125 explosive submunitions for training and research purposes.[31] Sweden did not declare any change in this number in the updated transparency report provided in April 2014.[32] In September 2013, Sweden repeated a previous statement that the retained submunitions would be used “for training personnel in destruction techniques on live ammunition” because in its view, “it is crucial for such training to feature the handling of live explosives.”[33]
[1] Law 179, entitled “Penalties for Illicit Dealing with Cluster Munitions,” was approved by the Parliament on 15 March 2012 and enacted on 4 April 2012. Article 1 of the law contains penalties of imprisonment up to four years (or up to 18 years to life if the offense is considered to be serious) for any person who uses, develops, manufactures, acquires, holds, or transfers cluster munitions. An offense is considered serious if the use of cluster munitions endangers the lives or health of many people. The law applies extraterritorially to all Swedish citizens regardless of where the offense was committed, and to all foreign residents residing within the territory of Sweden. It also applies to natural persons and companies. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 25 March 2013.
[2] Statement of Sweden, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 12 September 2013. Sweden has also reported that developed its armed forces have developed e-learning courses on the convention. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form A, 25 March 2013.
[3] The initial report covers calendar year 2012, while the report provided on 25 April 2014 is for calendar year 2013.
[4] Prior to signing the convention, in September 2008, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt stated that it could take up to a decade to destroy the stockpiled cluster munitions. Statements by Carl Bildt in response to parliamentary question 2008/09: 94 on the international ban on cluster munitions, Swedish Parliamentary Debate, 28 November 2008. For more details on Sweden’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. 161.
[5] Utrikesutskottets bettkesuts 2011/12:UU7, “Nedrustning, icke-spridning och konventionell rustningskontroll samt Sveriges tillträde till konventionen om klusterammunition” (Foreign Affairs Committee Report 2011/12:UU7, “Disarmament, non-proliferation and conventional arms control and Sweden’s accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions”), 23 February 2012, p. 22. In May 2013, an official said that Swedenn’s accession to the Convention on Cluster MuKlinga, Deputy Director, Department for Disarmament and Non-proliferation, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 24 May 2013.
[6] In the original: “Sverige gjorde sig till stor kostnad av med ett fungerande attackvapensystem för vårt försvar, men praktiskt taget inga av de stora länderna med klustervapen har avskaffat någonting. Det är klart att detta kan man göra som effektiv politik om man tror på det. Vi har förordat en bredare koalition för att förhandla också med klustervapenländerna och nå större framsteg där, och jag hoppas att det fortfarande ska gå.” Statement by Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sveriges Riksdag, Riksdagens protokoll 2013/14:42 Mveriges Riksdag, dag, (Swedish Parliament, Parliamentary Protocol 2013/14:42 Monday, 9 December 2013), Parliament 2013/14:42 9 December 2013.
[7] Sveriges Riksdag, “Svar på skriftlig fråga 2012/13:149: Användningen av klustervapen i Syrien” (Swedish Parliament, “Answer to written question 2012/13:149: The use of cluster munitions in Syria”), by Carl Bildt, Foreign Minister, 11 December 2012.
[8] “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution A/RES/68/182, 18 December 2013. Sweden voted in favor of a similar resolution on 15 May 2013.
[9] Regeringskansliet Utrikesdepartementet,“Sveriges tillträde till konventionen om klusterammunition” (Office of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, “Accession of Sweden to the Convention on Cluster Munitions”), Ds 2010:46, issued in April 2011, p. 27.
[10] Regeringens proposition 2011/12:47, “Sveriges tillräde till konventionen om klusterammunition” (Government bill 2011/12:47, “Accession of Sweden to the Convention on Cluster Munitions”), 15 December 2011.
[11] Regeringskansliet Utrikesdepartementet, “Sveriges tillträde till konventionen om klusterammunition” (Office of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, “Accession of Sweden to the Convention on Cluster Munitions”), Ds 2010:46, issued in April 2011, p. 44.
[12] The report was issued by the Foreign Affairs Committee on 23 February 2012 and approved by parliament on 15 March 2012. Utrikesutskottets bettkesuts 2011/12:UU7, “Nedrustning, icke-spridning och konventionell rustningskontroll samt Sveriges tillträde till konventionen om klusterammunition” (Foreign Affairs Committee Report 2011/12:UU7, “Disarmament, non-proliferation and conventional arms control and Sweden’s accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions”), 23 February 2012.
[13] Utrikesutskottets bettkesuts 2011/12:UU7, “Nedrustning, icke-spridning och konventionell rustningskontroll samt Sveriges tillträde till konventionen om klusterammunition” (Foreign Affairs Committee Report 2011/12:UU7, “Disarmament, non-proliferation and conventional arms control and Sweden’s accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions”), 23 February 2012.
[14] Regeringens proposition 2011/12:47, “Sveriges tillräde till konventionen om klusterammunition” (Government bill 2011/12:47, “Accession of Sweden to the Convention on Cluster Munitions”), 15 December 2011.
[15] Utrikesutskottets bettkesuts 2011/12:UU7, “Nedrustning, icke-spridning och konventionell rustningskontroll samt Sveriges tillträde till konventionen om klusterammunition” (Foreign Affairs Committee Report 2011/12:UU7, “Disarmament, non-proliferation and conventional arms control and Sweden’s accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions”), 23 February 2012.
[16] The motions were rejected by committee members from the major/governing parties. The Green Party and Left Party also put forward a motion calling for increased support for mine clearance and victim assistance. Utrikesutskottets bettkesuts 2011/12:UU7, “Nedrustning, icke-spridning och konventionell rustningskontroll samt Sveriges tillträde till konventionen om klusterammunition” (Foreign Affairs Committee Report 2011/12:UU7, “Disarmament, non-proliferation and conventional arms control and Sweden’s accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions”), 23 February 2012.
[17] In 2008, Swedish state-owned pension fund AP7 announced that it would not permit direct investment in companies developing or producing cluster munitions and nuclear weapons. Swedish pension fund AP1-4 subsequently disinvested from cluster munition producers after the Swedish Ethical Council mandated a screening of companies suspected to be involved in cluster munition production. Swedish pension fund KPA also does not invest in companies producing weapons, including cluster munitions, their delivery platforms, and related components. The Swedish mutual insurance company Folksam has sold its interest in companies that produce or sell cluster munitions. Nordea, the largest financial services group in the Nordic and Baltic Sea regions, excluded cluster munition producers from its investments in 2009. In 2009, SEB, a Swedish commercial bank and asset manager, decided to stop investing in companies involved in manufacturing or promoting cluster munitions and it has since developed a list of excluded companies and conducts biannual screenings. See “Worldwide investments in Cluster Munitions: a shared responsibility, June 2012 update,” Pax Christi and FairFin, June 2012. Folksam, KPA, Swedish Pension Funds AP1-4, and Swedish Pension Fund AP7 were listed in the “hall of fame,” while Nordea and SEB were listed as “runners up.”
[18] PAX (formerly IKV Pax Christi) and FairFin, “December 2013 Update: Worldwide investments in Cluster Munitions: a shared responsibility,” December 2013, pp. 12 and 120.
[19] Letter from Amb. Lars-Erik Wingren, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 24 March 2009. The Foreign Minister said in January 2010 that Sweden has never used its BK-90 cluster munitions and has no plans to do so. Statements by Carl Bildt, in response to parliamentary question 2009/10:130 on the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Swedish Parliamentary Debate, 19 January 2010.
[20] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form E, 25 March 2013.
[21] Robert Hewson, ed., Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons, Issue 44 (Surrey, UK: Jane’s Information Group Limited, 2004), pp. 360–361.
[22] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 25 March 2013.
[23] Sweden listed the weights of the MJ-1 submunitions as 4 kg and the MJ-2 submunitions as 18 kg. In September 2012, Sweden informed States Parties that its stockpile was comprised of a total of 370 BK-M90 cluster munitions containing 17,761 MJ-1 submunitions and 2,960 MJ-2 submunitions. Statement of Sweden, Convention on Cluster Munitions Third Meeting of States Parties, Oslo, 13 September 2013.
[24] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 25 March 2013.
[25] Ibid., 25 April 2014.
[26] Utrikesutskottets bettkesuts 2011/12:UU7, “Nedrustning, icke-spridning och konventionell rustningskontroll samt Sveriges tillträde till konventionen om klusterammunition” (Foreign Affairs Committee Report 2011/12:UU7, “Disarmament, non-proliferation and conventional arms control and Sweden’s accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions”), 23 February 2012; statement of Sweden, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 16 June 2011; and FMV document 10FMV1726-7:1, dated 10 February 2011.
[27] In its initial Article 7 report, Sweden declared the destruction of 148 BK-M90 cluster munition dispensers: 111 BK-M90 cluster munitions were destroyed before the 1 October 2012 entry into force of the convention for Sweden and another 37 BK-M90 dispensers were destroyed after entry into force. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 25 March 2013. In its April 2014 Article 7 report, Sweden declared the destruction of another 143 dispensers in 2013, making a total of 180 cluster munition dispensers destroyed after the convention’s entry into force. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 25 April 2014.
[28] Statement of Sweden, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 12 September 2013.
[29] Sweden reported purchasing a total of 20,721 MJ-1 and MJ-2 submunitions. It declared that it is retaining 125 of these for training and research purposes. It reported that the remaining 20,595 submunitions had been separated from operational stocks and marked for destruction. Given the figures Sweden has reported in its September 2012 statement and Article 7 report, the total number of submunitions Sweden has yet to destroy should be 20,596. It is not clear if there is a calculation error or if Sweden has destroyed one MJ-1 submunition. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Reports, Forms B and C, 25 April 2014, and 25 March 2013; and statement of Sweden, Convention on Cluster Munitions Third Meeting of States Parties, Oslo, 13 September 2012.
[30] Statement of Sweden, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 12 September 2013.
[31] According to its Article 7 Report, Sweden is retaining 100 MUS JAS-1 submunitions and 25 MUS JAS-2 submunitions. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 25 March 2013.
[32] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 25 April 2014.
[33] Statement of Sweden, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 11 September 2013; and statement of Sweden, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 17 April 2013.
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