Convention on Cluster Munitions

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Victims of cluster munitions use during the Dublin Conference in May 2008

The Convention on Cluster Munitions , also known colloquially as the Cluster Bombs Convention , is an international treaty that entered into force on August 1, 2010, banning the use, manufacture and distribution of certain types of conventional cluster munitions . The term cluster ammunition describes bombs , grenades or warheads that do not explode as a whole, but rather release a large number of smaller explosive devices. Typically, a large part of this so-called submunition does not explode but remains on site as a dud . The danger to the population from abandoned ammunition is much higher than with conventional ammunition, since the duds are very numerous and difficult to find due to their small size.

In addition to the prohibition provisions, the agreement, which is part of international humanitarian law and international arms control law , contains provisions on the destruction of existing stocks, the removal of residues from cluster ammunition used and support for victims of cluster bombs. The convention, which was negotiated in May 2008 during a diplomatic conference in Dublin, has been signable since December 2008. As of March 1, 2018, the agreement has been ratified by 106 states, most recently Sri Lanka and the Holy See , and signed by 14 other states.

Background information

BLU-3 bomblet (pineapple bomb) made from a CBU-2A bomb which, when detonated, releases 200 steel pellets at high speed

Cluster bombs are used in particular against targets that are distributed in large numbers over a wide area, against so-called "soft targets" such as people, unarmored vehicles and anti-aircraft positions, and for the destruction of infrastructure such as roads and runways . In addition to being designed as a drop weapon, cluster ammunition in the form of artillery shells and cruise missiles is also in use. When used, all variants release a large number of smaller explosive devices or projectiles, which are known as bomblets, from a larger bomb or grenade housing. Certain cluster bomb types contain several hundred bomblets, which are usually unguided and explode on impact. As of April 2005, more than 210 different types of cluster ammunition were manufactured by over 85 companies in at least 34 countries worldwide. At least twelve manufacturing countries have exported these weapons to at least 58 other countries. The total number of states that have cluster ammunition in their armed forces' weapon stocks is estimated at over 70.

The use of cluster ammunition is considered problematic for various reasons. On the one hand, there are humanitarian concerns about unnecessary suffering and injuries when deployed against combatants , particularly due to the infliction of a large number of difficult-to-treat wounds and permanent mutilations such as the loss of limbs. This aspect of the criticism relates to the customary principle established in international humanitarian law that the methods and means of waging war are subject to restrictions that result in particular from considerations of humanity and military necessity. Another criticism of the use of cluster bombs is that they do not allow a distinction to be made between military and civilian targets in combat due to their poor targeting accuracy. Thirdly, in the opinion of the proponents of a ban, in particular the non-exploding of bomblets immediately after being dropped and thus their remaining in the environment beyond the end of an armed conflict represents a serious problem for the civilian population. The demand for the greatest possible sparing of civilian goals as well however, a distinction between combatants and non-combatants also results from the customary principles of international humanitarian law.

According to studies, ten to 40 percent of the ammunition contained in the cluster bomb systems used in the last few decades remain in the environment as unexploded duds. In addition, unexploded bomblets are not stationary because of their low weight and because of their small size cannot be seen in aerial photographs , which makes searching for the purpose of disposal very difficult. Due to the high number of bomblets per cluster bomb, even with a low rate of unexploded bomblets, the number of duds clearly exceeds the number of main projectiles used. The use of cluster bombs thus leads to large areas in the affected countries that have to be regularly designated as restricted zones, since entering them due to explosive residues from cluster bombs, similar to the use of land mines , is associated with a high risk to life and health of people is. After the end of a war, these regions pose a considerable threat, especially for the civilian population, and in many cases also result in a loss of agricultural land. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), such areas exist in around 20 countries around the world as of Laos is most affected . Handicap International estimates that 98 percent of people affected by the effects of cluster bombs are civilians and 27 percent are children.

History of origin

Sculpture in memory of the cluster bomb victims in Geneva

The Second World War is considered to be the historical beginning of the use of cluster ammunition , in which cluster bombs were dropped by the Red Army against German tank units in 1943 and in the same year by the German air force when the British port city of Grimsby was bombed . In the attack on Grimsby, three quarters of the fatalities were killed by unexploded bomblets, which took more than two weeks to clean up. In the second half of the 20th century, cluster bombs were used extensively by the United States in Cambodia , Vietnam and Laos, among others in the 1960s and 1970s . It was used in the 1970s by Israel in Syria and Lebanon and in the 1980s by the Soviet Union in the Soviet-Afghan War . In the 1990s, the US cluster bombs in 1991 sat in the war against Iraq and 1,999 in Kosovo war , and also in the conflicts in Chechnya and Nagorno-Karabakh , as well as during the Bosnian war by Yugoslavia cluster bombs were dropped. There are also individual case reports and unconfirmed reports on the use of cluster ammunition from a number of other conflicts in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Calls for a ban on cluster ammunition first came up in 1974 at a meeting in Lucerne of government experts on weapons that cause excessive suffering or can act indiscriminately, and were renewed two years later at a follow-up conference. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) published a report on the effects of cluster bombs in 1983, which also contained demands for legal regulations for their use. After little progress was made in this regard, the war in Kosovo, the war in Afghanistan since 2001 and, in particular, the war in Lebanon in 2006 are regarded as decisive impulses for intensifying efforts towards a corresponding ban. During the Lebanon War, cluster ammunition with a total volume of around four million bomblets were dropped on an area of ​​around 37 square kilometers, of which, according to various estimates, up to a million did not explode. After the end of the fighting, around 250 civilians and munitions clearance workers have so far been killed or wounded by these residues.

In 2003, the Cluster Munition Coalition , an alliance of human rights organizations and other associations and initiatives against the use of cluster munitions , was founded to coordinate civil society activities for a cluster bomb ban . After attempts in 2001 and 2003 to achieve appropriate regulations through a protocol to the convention on the prohibition or restriction of the use of certain conventional weapons which cause excessive suffering or can act indiscriminately, Norway took the lead a group of 25 states and initiated a series of meetings and negotiations known as the Oslo Process on an international agreement to ban cluster bombs. The joint efforts of states, various UN organizations and civil society associations to find such a treaty were similar to the activities that led to the 1997 Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines . The first countries to ban cluster bombs at national level before an international agreement was reached were Belgium and Austria . In a joint statement with the defense minister of his country, Hervé Morin, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner announced in May 2008 that France would with immediate effect decommission its stock of M26 missiles and thus around 90 percent of the French army's cluster ammunition.

On 30 May 2008 a conference in which it was under Irish capital Dublin from 107 countries, a draft for a corresponding convention adopted, since one of 2 to 4 December, 2008 in Oslo signed took place Conference by the international community and ratified can be . The first signatory was the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg on December 3, 2008 , followed by representatives from Laos and Lebanon. The 94 countries that signed the convention during the Oslo conference included Australia , France , Spain , Italy , Japan , Canada and the United Kingdom , and a total of 18 of the 26 NATO countries and 19 of the 27 member countries of the European Union Union . Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier signed the agreement for Germany , Christian Strohal for Austria 's permanent representative to the United Nations, and Micheline Calmy-Rey, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, for Switzerland . Norway, Ireland , Sierra Leone and the Holy See also deposited a declaration of ratification with their signature. The Japanese government pledged to provide seven million US dollars in Oslo to help victims . The position of the government of Afghanistan , which had initially been reluctant to sign, changed after a conversation between the Afghan ambassador in Norway and a 17-year-old boy from Herat who had lost both legs to cluster bombs. The President of the country, Hamid Karzai , agreed to sign it after a telephone conversation with the ambassador.

Content

The flag of the United Nations, which acts as the depositary of the Cluster Bombs Convention

The Convention on Cluster Munitions follows the Protocol on "Explosive Remnants of War" to the 1980 Convention "on the Prohibition or Restriction of the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons That May Cause Excessive Suffering or May Work Indiscriminately", signed in 2003 and which came into force three years later . In addition, due to the comparable long-term effects on the civilian population, the convention is often compared with the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines. The prohibition of cluster bombs provided for by the Convention is a contractual manifestation of the principles accepted under customary international law that the choice of means and methods of warfare are subject to restrictions, that at all times during an armed conflict a distinction must be made between civil and military objectives and that the civilian population and civil facilities need to be protected as much as possible from the effects of hostilities. The preamble to the Convention makes explicit reference to these principles. Jakob Kellenberger , then President of the ICRC, also emphasized in his declaration at the conference in Oslo on December 3, 2008, the connection between the agreement and the Petersburg Declaration of 1868, which banned weapons for the first time 140 years earlier cause unnecessary suffering. Among other things, he said:

“… The way to Oslo began with the first use of cluster ammunition against the British port of Grimsby 65 years ago. ... This route to Oslo also leads through the mountains and rice fields in Southeast Asia, where hundreds of millions of cluster bombs were dropped and many tens of millions remain to this day. This path runs through the lives of civilians in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam who have lived under the threat of unexploded cluster munitions for four decades. ... Another route to Oslo began 140 years ago in Saint Petersburg, when an international military commission decreed that the only legitimate aim in a war is to weaken the enemy's armed forces, thereby establishing the principle that the necessities of war meet demands subordinate to humanity. ... These two paths meet here today with the signing of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. ... "

- Jakob Kellenberger : December 3, 2008, Oslo
based on a translation of the original English text

The Convention consists of 23 articles and, based on a number of definitions, contains a ban on the use, development, manufacture or other acquisition, storage and transfer of conventional cluster ammunition and the obligation to destroy existing stocks within eight years of accession of a country to the agreement. With regard to the definition of cluster ammunition, there are certain exemption clauses that distinguish newer weapon systems that meet a number of technical requirements from conventional cluster ammunition and exclude them from the prohibition provisions. Storage until destruction must be carried out separately from other weapon systems that are intended for operational use. In addition, the contracting states are obliged to ensure that unexploded residues from cluster ammunition are disposed of on their territory within ten years of accession and to take measures to instruct the civilian population about the risks and to protect civilians. States that have used cluster ammunition on the territory of another country and later accede to the convention are encouraged to cooperate with the affected countries in the disposal. The parties to the convention also undertake to provide medical and psychological support for the victims of cluster bombs, as well as international cooperation and transparency in the implementation of the convention. For the settlement of conflicts with regard to the application and interpretation of the agreement, reference is made to meetings of the contracting states and the International Court of Justice ; the assessment of the implementation and the effectiveness of the measures taken by the contracting parties takes place within the framework of review conferences. The convention is to enter into force six months after its 30th accession , with the Secretary General of the United Nations acting as the depositary .

Acceptance and criticism

Contracting parties (dark green) and signatory states (light green)

As of March 1, 2018, the Convention on Cluster Munitions was ratified by 106 countries and the Holy See and signed by 14 other countries, including Austria on April 2, 2009, Germany on July 8, 2009 and Switzerland on March 17 July 2012. It came into force on August 1, 2010. Various parties such as the ICRC, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch , the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his British counterpart David Miliband described it as a milestone in conventional arms control and the most important recent agreement in the development of international humanitarian law . The Philippines most recently joined on July 1, 2019. With the convention, conventional cluster bombs, like biological and chemical weapons , are completely prohibited weapons. In addition, the provisions contained in the convention on the responsibility of the polluter states for the disposal of ordnance residues and in particular the comprehensive obligations to supply and care for victims of the use of cluster ammunition, through which the influence of human rights on international humanitarian law is expanded, apply in the historical Context as groundbreaking and trend-setting.

In May 2009, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on all member states of the European Union to sign the agreement. Among the EU countries have not yet signed: Finland , Estonia , Latvia , Poland , Romania , Greece ; The agreement has been signed but not yet ratified by the Republic of Cyprus (status: 2018; here in the order from north to south).

The United States , Russia , the People's Republic of China , Israel , India , Pakistan and Brazil , among the world's most important manufacturers and users of cluster munitions, are not among the supporters of the convention . The US recognizes the need to reduce the impact of cluster bombing on the civilian population. In order to reduce the danger to the civilian population, the USA is therefore planning to limit the use and export of cluster ammunition to systems in which at least 99 percent of the bomblets either explode during use or are put out of action by self-destruct mechanisms until the end of a conflict . In addition, the United States sees an addition to the Convention “on the prohibition or restriction of the use of certain conventional weapons which cause undue suffering or may act indiscriminately” as a more appropriate legal framework, since it has acceded to all major military powers compared to the Cluster Bomb Convention be.

A major point of criticism of the agreement on the part of proponents of a ban on cluster munitions is the inclusion of exemptions for newer ammunition systems that meet certain technical requirements. This includes types of ammunition that contain fewer than ten individual explosive devices, whose individual explosive devices each weigh more than four kilograms, whose explosive devices are capable of detecting and tracking individual targets and whose explosive devices are equipped with mechanisms for self-destruction or self-deactivation. For weapon systems that meet these conditions, manufacturers and the military use the designation "point target ammunition" in Germany in order to distinguish them from conventional cluster ammunition. This definition of exception, however, contradicts the previous understanding, as it was also represented by the United Nations, according to which the term cluster ammunition includes without restriction all weapon systems in which smaller projectiles are released from a main body. In addition, this exception only applies to existing and partially used types of ammunition, but not to possible new developments.

Opponents of a ban reject the criticisms on which the agreement is based, namely that cluster munitions cause unnecessary suffering and injuries, that they act indiscriminately in use and that they endanger the civilian population through duds beyond the end of the conflict, particularly with reference to the military necessity of this type of weapon. According to this line of argument, their deployment in certain situations is compatible with the rules of international law after weighing up humanitarian aspects and specific goals. In addition, the aforementioned points of criticism and the resulting demand for a ban are also contradicted on the grounds that the production and purchase of cluster munitions by a significant number of states and their long-term use up to various recent conflicts are evidence of the lack of international consensus to outlaw cluster bombs. With regard to the argument that cluster munitions cause “unnecessary suffering” and “unnecessary injuries”, critics of a ban also point out the lack of objective definitions for these terms and the comparable effects of other permitted weapon systems. The comparison of unexploded bomblets with anti-personnel mines , which have been banned by the Ottawa Convention since 1997, which proponents of a ban occasionally put forward , is countered by the fact that cluster bomblets, unlike anti-personnel mines, are not designed with the aim of being exploded by people or vehicles become.

In November 2011, opponents of the convention tried to negotiate a second cluster munitions agreement with significantly lower standards. A draft contract favored by the USA, Russia and China, among others, provided for the prohibition of only older stocks that were produced before 1980. Non-governmental organizations such as Handicap International and the Red Cross warned against watering down the convention. Negotiations on a new UN agreement on the use of cluster munitions ultimately failed due to resistance from 50 states, including Austria, which had spoken out against weakening the Oslo resolutions.

According to the Cluster Munition Coalition initiative , a good year after the Convention came into force, 69 countries still had stocks of these weapons. Worldwide, there would still be at least 610,000 cluster bombs with more than 100 million individual explosives.

At the beginning of December 2017, the United States announced that it also wanted to use older ammunition again, the use of which had been suspended for 10 years in 2008 because of the higher proportion of duds in the old models.

literature

  • Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities. Handicap International report , Brussels 2007, ISBN 978-92-95060-01-2 .
  • Cluster Munitions: A New Treaty to End Decades of Civilians Suffering. Published by the International Committee of the Red Cross , Geneva 2008.
  • Jessica Corsi: Towards Peace Through Legal Innovation: The Process and the Promise of the 2008 Cluster Munitions Convention. In: Harvard Human Rights Journal. 22 (1) / 2009. Harvard Law School, pp. 145-158, ISSN  1057-5057

Web links

Wikisource: Convention on Cluster Munitions  - English contract text

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Philippines joins the Convention on Cluster Munitions , January 3, 2019, accessed February 26, 2019
  2. ↑ What are Cluster Munitions? In: Cluster Munitions: A New Treaty To End Decades of Civilians Suffering. Published by the ICRC, Geneva 2008, p. 4.
  3. ↑ Worldwide Production and Export of Cluster Munitions. Human Rights Watch report , published April 7, 2005.
  4. ↑ a b c Titus Peachey, Virgil Wiebe: Cluster Bombs. The Bombs That Keep on Killing. In: Landmine Monitor Report 2000. Human Rights Watch, New York 2000, ISBN 1-56432-250-5 , pp. 1090/1091 (summary of the report Clusters of Death: The Mennonite Central Committee Global Report on Cluster Bomb Production and Use ( Memento of July 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) )
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Geneva Protocol I and Customary International Law: Do Cluster Munitions Cause Unnecessary Suffering and Superfluous Injury, as Prohibited by the Law of Armed Conflict? In: Thomas J. Herthel: On the Chopping Block: Cluster Munitions and the Law of War. In: The Air Force Law Review. 51/2001. Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force, pp. 229-270 (especially pp. 255ff.), ISSN  0094-8381
  6. ↑ a b Cluster Bombs: A Weapon Causing Unnecessary and Superfluous Suffering ?. In: Thomas Michael McDonnell: Cluster Bombs Over Kosovo: A Violation of International Law? In: Arizona Law Review. 44/2002. James E. Rogers College of Law at The University of Arizona, pp. 31-129 (especially pp. 66ff.), ISSN  0004-153X
  7. ↑ a b Are Cluster Munitions Indiscriminate Because They are Incapable of Being Accurately Deployed or Because Their Bomblets Do Not Always Detonate as Designed, and Thus Create Minefields Incapable of Distinguishing Between Combatants and Noncombatants? In: Thomas J. Herthel: On the Chopping Block: Cluster Munitions and the Law of War. In: The Air Force Law Review. 51/2001. Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force, pp. 229-270 (especially pp. 260ff.), ISSN  0094-8381
  8. ↑ An Indiscriminate Weapon? In: Thomas Michael McDonnell: Cluster Bombs Over Kosovo: A Violation of International Law? In: Arizona Law Review. 44/2002. James E. Rogers College of Law at The University of Arizona, pp. 31-129 (especially pp. 79ff.), ISSN  0004-153X
  9. ↑ A Weapon unduly endangering the Environment and the Health of the population? In: Thomas Michael McDonnell: Cluster Bombs Over Kosovo: A Violation of International Law? In: Arizona Law Review. 44/2002. James E. Rogers College of Law at The University of Arizona, pp. 31-129 (especially pp. 87ff.), ISSN  0004-153X
  10. ↑ Jean-Marie Henckaerts, Louise Doswald-Beck: Customary International Humanitarian Law. Volume 1. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2005, ISBN 978-0-521-80899-6 , pp. 3–24 ( Distinction between Civilians and Combatants ) and pp. 25–36 ( Distinction between Civilian Objects and Military Objectives )
  11. ↑ a b c International Committee of the Red Cross : Cluster Munition Convention - Oslo signing ceremony December 1, 2008.
  12. ↑ a b Afghanistan joins ban at teen's plea . The Seattle Times, December 4, 2008.
  13. ^ A History of Harm - A Timeline of Cluster Bomb Use . Cluster Munitions Coalition
  14. ↑ a b c d Jessica Corsi: Towards Peace Through Legal Innovation: The Process and the Promise of the 2008 Cluster Munitions Convention. In: Harvard Human Rights Journal. 22 (1) / 2009. Harvard Law School, pp. 145-158, ISSN  1057-5057
  15. ↑ Austria abolishes cluster bombs . Spiegel Online , December 7, 2008.
  16. ^ Joint statement by M. Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, and M. Hervé Morin, Minister of Defense. ( Memento from June 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) May 23, 2008.
  17. ↑ 100 states outlaw the controversial cluster bombs . Welt Online , December 3, 2008.
  18. ^ A b International Humanitarian Law - Treaties & Documents: Convention on Cluster Munitions, May 30, 2008. International Committee of the Red Cross ; List of Contracting Parties and List of Signatory States
  19. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Japan, over 100 other countries sign cluster bomb ban in Oslo . ) Japan Today, October 4, 2008.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.japantoday.com
  20. ^ A b Statement by Jakob Kellenberger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference, Oslo, December 3, 2008
  21. ^ Convention against Cluster Munitions enters into force . Zeit Online , August 1, 2010.
  22. ↑ a b International Treaty: More than a hundred states want to sign a cluster bomb ban . Spiegel Online , December 3, 2008.
  23. ↑ Cluster munition convention signed . The Irish Times, December 4, 2008.
  24. ↑ Cluster Munition Coalition Warmly Welcomes Ratification Philippines January 10, 2019
  25. ↑ Resolution of the European Parliament of 7 May 2009 on the annual report on human rights in the world for 2008 and the European Union's policy in this area
  26. ^ Convention on Cluster Munitions: Universalization States by Region. In: .clusterconvention.org. Retrieved March 21, 2018 .
  27. ↑ United States Opposes Ban on Cluster Munitions, Supports Alternative CCW Negotiations . In: American Journal of International Law . 102 (4) / 2008. American Society of International Law, p. 889, ISSN  0002-9300 .
  28. ^ A b DoD Policy on Cluster Munitions and Unintended Harm to Civilians . ( Memento of August 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 162 kB) Published by the United States Department of Defense on June 19, 2008
  29. ↑ Point target ammunition meets freedom of the press . Telepolis , March 3, 2009.
  30. ^ 1. Treaty Law: Landmines and Cluster Munitions Are the Use of Cluster Munitions in Violation of Existing International Treaties or Agreements? In: Thomas J. Herthel: On the Chopping Block: Cluster Munitions and the Law of War. In: The Air Force Law Review. 51/2001. Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force, pp. 229-270 (especially pp. 249ff.), ISSN  0094-8381
  31. ^ Talks on Cluster Bomb Restrictions Collapse . The New York Times , November 25, 2011.
  32. ↑ Welt Online : 69 countries are still working with cluster bombs November 16, 2011.
  33. ↑ Ban on cluster bombs in danger . NZZ Online , November 16, 2011.
  34. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Austria opposes dilution of the ban on cluster munitions . ) Tiroler Tageszeitung Online , November 17, 2011.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.tt.com
  35. ↑ John Ismay: "US Will Keep Older Cluster Munitions, a Weapon Banned by 102 Nations" New York Times, December 1, 2017.