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Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice Documents the Creation of an International Treaty Banning Cluster Munitions

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Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice Documents the Creation of an International Treaty Banning Cluster Munitions 63255_cover:Cluster Munitions Report 2009 cover 5/6/09 5:18 PM Page 1 BANNING CLUSTER MUNITIONS Government Policy and Practice Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice documents the creation of an international treaty banning cluster munitions. It looks at governments’ engagement in the Oslo Process, a diplomatic initiative started by Norway in February 2007 to create a legally-binding instrument outlawing cluster munitions and establishing a framework for clearing contaminated areas and meeting the needs of cluster munition victims. The report also considers government practice with respect to the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions. Banning Cluster Munitions contains entries on 150 countries, including signatories to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, stockpiler countries, and affected states. This report was prepared by Human Rights BANNING CLUSTER MUNITIONS Watch and Landmine Action on behalf of Landmine Monitor, the system providing civil society monitoring on the humanitarian and developmental consequences of landmines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war. Representatives from Human Rights BANNING Watch and Landmine Action co-chair the Cluster Munition Coalition, the civil society campaign that helped to secure international support for the Convention on Cluster Munitions. CLUSTER MUNITIONS Back cover photo © Cluster Munition Coalition, 4 December 2008 Afghan campaigner and cluster munition survivor Soraj Ghulam Habib and Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre celebrate the signing of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo, Norway. The strong partnership between governments and Government Policy and Practice civil society was integral to the treaty negotiation process. Cover Design by Rafael Jiménez Front cover photo © Simon Conway/Landmine Action, September 2006 Government Policy and Practice Printed and bound in Canada This M77 submunition landed on the roof of Majdal Selem School in South Lebanon in 2006 and failed to detonate. Israel launched millions of submunitions into Lebanon during its 2006 conflict with Hezbollah, many of which landed in populated areas and failed to explode on impact. The United States supplied M77 submunitions Cert no. to Israel. This photo is printed to scale to show the actual size of the submunition. Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice Human Rights Watch · Landmine Action · Landmine Monitor International Campaign to Ban Landmines · Cluster Munition Coalition © May 2009 by Mines Action Canada All rights reserved Printed and bound in Canada ISBN: 978-097389554-4 Front cover photograph © Simon Conway/Landmine Action, September 2006 Back cover photograph © Cluster Munition Coalition, 4 December 2008 Cover design by Rafael Jiménez Landmine Monitor is the research and monitoring program of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and functionally the research and monitoring arm of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC). For more information visit www.lm.icbl.org or email [email protected]. Landmine Monitor makes every effort to limit the environmental footprint of reports. This report is printed on paper manufactured from 100% post-consumer recycled waste fiber, and is processed without using chlorine. Biogas Energy, an energy source produced from decomposing waste collected from landfill sites, was used in paper production to reduce greenhouse emissions and depletion of the ozone layer. Using 1,297kg of this paper instead of paper made from virgin fibers reduces saves 24 mature trees, 701kg of solid waste, 66,283L of water, 4.4kg of suspended particles in water, 1,539kg of air emissions, and 100m3 of natural gas. Our printer, St. Joseph Communications, is certified by the EcoLogo Environmental Choice Program. St. Joseph Communications uses vegetable-based inks that are less toxic than chemical inks, and runs the Partners in Growth Program. For every ton of paper used on our behalf, they contribute three seedlings to Scouts Canada for planting in parks, recreation and conservation areas, and other public spaces across Canada. Since its inception, the program has planted more than two million trees. This report is available online at www.lm.icbl.org/cm/2009. We ask our readers to use the online version whenever possible. If you have unused print copies of this report, please share them with others, donate them to a local library or recycle them. Acknowledgements ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice documents the creation of the new international treaty banning cluster munitions. It looks at governments’ engagement in the Oslo Process, a diplomatic initiative started by Norway in November 2006 to create a legally-binding instrument outlawing cluster munitions and establishing a framework for clearing contaminated areas and meeting the needs of cluster munition victims. The report also considers government practice with respect to the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions. Banning Cluster Munitions contains entries on 150 countries, including signatories to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, stockpiler countries, and affected states. It looks at the role played by civil society, particularly the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), in helping to secure international support for the convention. It considers how the treaty was achieved using a diplomatic model pioneered over a decade ago in the creation of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which prohibits antipersonnel mines and requires their clearance and assistance to victims. This report was written by Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, and produced by Landmine Monitor. Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action co-chair the CMC and played central roles in the negotiation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Landmine Monitor is the International Campaign to Ban Landmines’ (ICBL) civil society-based research and monitoring program, which has monitored the universalization and implementation of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty for over a decade. On behalf of the CMC, Landmine Monitor will fulfil such a role in relation to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action are on Landmine Monitor’s Editorial Board, along with Mines Action Canada, Handicap International, and Norwegian People’s Aid. Banning Cluster Munitions provides an overview of government policy and practice on banning cluster munitions prior to and throughout the Oslo Process. It does not look in depth at issues related to clearance and victim assistance. Landmine Monitor is preparing comprehensive monitoring on cluster munitions for publication in 2010 that will review the status of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and document the ongoing work of clearing cluster munition remnants and assisting cluster munition victims. Banning Cluster Munitions was prepared by Human Rights Watch (Mark Hiznay, Mary Wareham, Kerri West, Anders Fink, Yekaterina Reyzis) and Landmine Action (Katherine Harrison, Richard Moyes, Anne Duquenne). Stephen Goose of Human Rights Watch served as final editor. Landmine Monitor (Jacqueline Hansen, Katie Pitts, Tatiana Stephens) managed the proofreading and production of Banning Cluster Munitions. Print and web layout were provided by Lixar I.T. Inc., the cover was designed by Rafael Jiménez, and St. Joseph Communications printed the report. We are grateful to everyone who assisted in the preparation of this report, including CMC and ICBL staff and campaigners for providing input and feedback on the draft report. We especially wish to thank the governments who responded to our requests for information. At this point, there is still a marked lack of official, publicly available information about the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions. We welcome comments, clarifications, and corrections from governments and others, in the spirit of dialogue, and in the common search for accurate and reliable information on an important subject. It was only possible to carry out this work with the generous contributions of Landmine Monitor donors who are in no way responsible for, and do not necessarily endorse, the material contained in this report. i Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice AbbREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS CBU cluster bomb unit CCM 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions CCW 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons CD Conference on Disarmament CMC Cluster Munition Coalition DPICM dual purpose improved conventional munition ERW explosive remnants of war GGE CCW Group of Governmental Experts HRW Human Rights Watch ICBL International Campaign to Ban Landmines ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross LM Landmine Monitor NGO non-governmental organization NSAG non-state armed group UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UXO unexploded ordnance WILPF Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom ii Glossary GLOSSARY Cluster bomb – Air-dropped cluster munition. Cluster munition – According to the Convention on Cluster Munitions a cluster munition is “A conventional munition that is designed to disperse or release explosive submunitions each weighing less than 20 kilograms, and includes those submunitions.” Cluster munitions consist of containers and submunitions. Launched from the ground or air, the containers open and disperse submunitions (bomblets) over a wide area. Submunitions are typically designed to pierce armor, kill personnel, or both. Convention on Cluster Munitions – An international convention
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