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Ethiopia
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Ethiopia had limited participation in the Oslo Process to develop the convention. It attended the Belgrade conference for affected states in October 2007 and the international conference in Vienna in December 2007.[1] Ethiopia attended the formal negotiations in Dublin in May 2008 as an observer. It issued a statement saying its attendance as an observer “should not…cast any doubt on its acceptance of, and commitment to the Oslo Process, which it principally and, to a large extent, substantively supports.”[2] Ethiopia raised concerns about the need for all states in its region to join the convention.
During a meeting with campaigners in October 2008, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that it was not a question of whether Ethiopia would sign, but rather when.[3] It did not attend the signing conference in Olso in December 2008.
Ethiopia has not produced cluster munitions, but used cluster munitions during its conflict with Eritrea between 1998 and 2000, and is believed to still possess cluster munition stockpiles, including UK-produced BL-755 cluster bombs, Soviet-produced PTAB cluster bombs, and Chilean-produced CB-500 cluster bombs.[4]
Ethiopia attacked several areas of Eritrea with cluster munitions. Ethiopian aircraft attacked the Asmara airport with cluster bombs in 1998, and also dropped BL-755 bombs in the Gash-Barka province of western Eritrea.[5] Ethiopian submunition duds have also been found in the Badme area, the ports of Assab and Massawa on the Red Sea coast, the Korokon Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Gash-Barka, and the Adi Bare IDP camp in Shambiko. The Mine Action Coordination Center of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE MACC) has identified approximately 30–40 strikes inside Eritrea. UNMEE reports that PTAB 2.5 and BL-755 submunitions have been encountered in Eritrea.[6]
Eritrea also dropped cluster munitions on Ethiopia in the same conflict. Eritrean aircraft attacked the Mekele airport in Ethiopia with cluster bombs in 1998.[7]
[1] It did not attend the other international conferences to develop the convention in Oslo, Lima, and Wellington, or the African regional conferences in Livingstone and Kampala.
[2] “Perspectives and Considered Position of the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on the Global Process to Conclude a Legally Binding Treaty Aimed at Banning Cluster Munitions,” Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, CCM/CRP/1, 19 May 2008.
[3] CMC, “CMC Newsletter” Issue 4, October 2008, 17 November 2008, www.stopclustermunitions.org. NGO campaigners have been active in Ethiopia, notably the Rehabilitation and Development Organization (RaDO) and Landmine Survivors Network. Ethiopian cluster munition survivors Berihu Mesele and Aynalem Zenebe have been strong campaigners in their home country and were present at many of the international and regional conferences of the Oslo Process. Both were part of the “Ban Advocates,” an initiative of Handicap International Belgium which brought together individuals affected by cluster munitions from many regions in the world. At the signing conference in December 2008, Berihu Mesele delivered a statement in the name of all of the Ban Advocates. Handicap International, “Ban Advocates Blog,” blog.banadvocates.org.
[4] Mines Action Canada, Actiongrouplandmine.de, and Landmine Action, Explosive remnants of war and mines other than anti-personnel mines: Global Survey 2003–2004 (London: Landmine Action, 2005), pp. 60, 64–65, www.minesactioncanada.org; Landmine Action, Explosive remnants of war: Unexploded ordnance and post-conflict communities (London: Landmine Action, 2002), pp. 50–53; and Rae McGrath, Cluster Bombs: The Military Effectiveness and Impact on Civilians of Cluster Munitions (London: Landmine Action, 2000), p. 38.
[5] Mines Action Canada, Actiongrouplandmine.de, and Landmine Action, Explosive remnants of war and mines other than anti-personnel mines: Global Survey 2003–2004 (London: Landmine Action, 2005), pp. 60; 64-65, www.minesactioncanada.org.
[6] Ibid; and Landmine Action, Explosive remnants of war: Unexploded ordnance and post-conflict communities (London: Landmine Action, 2002), pp. 50–53.
[7] See Handicap International, “Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities,” 2007, en.handicapinternational.be, p. 52, citing Eritrea–Ethiopia Claims Commission, Partial Award – Central Front – Ethiopia’s Claim 2 between The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the State of Eritrea, The Hague, 28 April 2004, p. 24.