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Tajikistan
The Republic of Tajikistan has not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Tajikistan is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and ratified Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War on 18 May 2006. It has not been an active participant in CCW discussions on cluster munitions in recent years.
It is not believed that Tajikistan produces or stockpiles cluster munitions. Unknown forces used cluster munitions in Tajikistan during its civil war in the 1990s. The Tajikistan Mine Action Centre has found ShOAB and AO-2.5RT submunitions in the town of Gharm in the Rasht Valley.[1]
Tajikistan first participated in the Oslo Process at the Belgrade conference for affected states in October 2007. It then attended the international conferences to develop the convention text in Vienna and Wellington.
At the Vienna conference, Tajikistan officially endorsed the Oslo Declaration, committing states to conclude in 2008 a new convention prohibiting cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. It spoke in favor of concrete obligations for the clearance of cluster munitions, but noted that meeting deadlines for clearance would depend on external assistance. [2]
While Tajikistan did not endorse the Wellington Declaration at the conclusion of the conference in February 2008, it did so on 23 April 2008; endorsement indicated its intention to participate fully in the formal negotiations in Dublin on the basis of the draft Wellington text.[3] However, Tajikistan did not attend the Dublin negotiations in May 2008, even as an observer.
Tajikistan did not attend the signing conference in Oslo in December 2008, and has not provided a public explanation for why it has not signed.
In April 2008, the NGO Harmony of the World and Umarbek Pulodov, a cluster munition survivor from Tajikistan, organized a roundtable on cluster munitions in Gharm.[4] During the Global Week of Action on Cluster Munitions in October 2008, Harmony of the World held a roundtable discussion about cluster munitions and the Oslo Process to encourage the government to sign the convention.[5]
[1] TMAC, “Cluster munitions in Gharm,” undated, but reporting on an April 2007 assessment.
[2] Statement of Tajikistan, Session on International Cooperation and Assistance, Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions, 7 December 2007. Notes by CMC/WILPF.
[3] New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, “List of countries subscribing to the Declaration of the Wellington Conference on Cluster Munitions,” 23 May 2008 www.mfat.govt.nz.
[4] Thirty-five survivors, along with representatives from the government, UNDP, and NGOs, participated in the forum, which was broadcast on Tajikistan’s national television channel. Stephanie Castanie, “Roundtable on Banning Cluster Munitions: Tajikistan 1 April 2008,” Handicap International, Ban Advocates Blog, 10 April 2008, blog.banadvocates.org. Also in April, events were organized to mark International Mine Action Day and the Global Day of Action on Cluster Munitions, which helped to highlight the issue of cluster munitions and gather support for campaign efforts in Tajikistan. CMC, “Global Day Of Action To Ban Cluster Bombs – What Happened,” 7 May 2008, www.stopclustermunitions.org.
[5] The event saw high-level government engagement and broad press coverage of the issue on both television and radio, including a documentary on the effects of cluster munitions. CMC, “Global Week of Action to Ban Cluster Bombs, 27 October – 2 November,” www.stopclustermunitions.org.