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Cook Islands

Last Updated: 01 September 2011

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Convention on Cluster Munitions status

State Party as of 1 February 2012

National implementation measures

Cluster Munitions Act of 2011

Participation in Convention on Cluster Munitions meetings

None

Key developments

Ratified on 23 August 2011, enacted national implementation legislation in July 2011

Policy

The Cook Islands signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified on 23 August 2011. The convention will enter into force for the Cook Islands on 1 February 2012.

In 2011, the Cook Islands Parliament enacted national legislation to implement the convention that was signed into law by Governor-General Sir Fredrick Goodwin on 14 July (see National Implementation Legislation section below). The Cook Islands subsequently deposited its instrument of ratification to the convention with the UN in New York on 23 August 2011, making it the 61st State Party.

The initial Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report by the Cook Islands is due by 30 July 2012.

The Cook Islands joined the Oslo Process in February 2008 and actively supported efforts to create a strong treaty text during the Dublin negotiations.[1]

The Cook Islands has not participated in any meetings of the convention since 2008, such as the First Meeting of States Parties in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010.

The Cook Islands has not yet made known its views on certain important issues related to interpretation and implementation of the convention, including the prohibition on transit, the prohibition on assistance during joint military operations with states not party that may use cluster munitions, the prohibition on foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions, the prohibition on investment in production of cluster munitions, and the need for retention of cluster munitions and submunitions for training and development purposes.

The Cook Islands is party to the Mine Ban Treaty.

The Cook Islands has stated on several occasions that it does not use, develop, produce, or stockpile cluster munitions.[2]

National Implementation Legislation

In July 2011, the Cook Islands became the first Pacific island nation to enact specific national legislation to implement the convention. The Cluster Munitions Act of 2011 legislation applies extraterritorially to both people and corporations.[3] It establishes sanctions of up to 10 years imprisonment and/or a fine of US$10,000 for an individual, or a fine of $20,000 for a corporation.

The Cluster Munitions Act of 2011 contains definitions that are essentially the same as those contained in the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Section Four prohibits the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling, but does not include a prohibition on assistance with these banned activities. The law does not address participation in joint military operations with states not party (“interoperability”), transit and foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions, or investment in cluster munition production.

Section Nine allows for the retention of cluster munitions in accordance with Article 3 of the convention. The retention of cluster munitions requires approval by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration and may not exceed “the minimum number absolutely necessary.”

 



[1] For more details, see Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), p. 62.

[2] Email from Myra Patai, Director, International Organizations and Treaties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, 25 August 2011; and email from Myra Moekaa, Director, International Organizations and Treaties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, 28 August 2009.

[3] The full title is “An Act to implement the Convention on Cluster Munitions in the Cook Islands and related matters.” Law No. 8, 2011. Email from Myra Patai, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, 25 August 2011.