On 18 October 2021, President of the 10^th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (10MSP), H.E. Mr. Aidan Liddle, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the Conference on Disarmament, held a lunch time informal exchange with member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discuss the CCM. The meeting took place at the United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations in New York in the margins of the 76^th session of the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security.

Twelve delegates representing 9 ASEAN States—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam—participated in the informal meeting.  Representatives of the CCM Implementation Support Unit (ISU) were also present to provide technical support to the 10MSP President.  Of the 10-nation ASEAN group only Laos and the Philippines are currently CCM States Parties, while Indonesia is a Signatory State.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador Liddle outlined the three main priorities of the UK Presidency in the lead up to the 10MSP, which will be held on 30 August to 2 September 2022. In the year ahead, the Presidency plans to intensify efforts to promote CCM universalization, explore alternative financing for actions against cluster munitions, and take steps to ensure that the Convention’s machinery functions smoothly. The President also briefed the participants on the Lausanne Action Plan that had been adopted by the CCM Second Review Conference of States Parties (2RC) on 21 September 2021 to guide the implementation of the Convention in the period 2021-2026.

The President also made reference to the 2021 UNGA Resolution on the Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which had been submitted by the United Kingdom and co-sponsored by members of the Coordination Committee and hoped that all the ASEAN States would vote in favour of the Resolution.

During the meeting, the ISU Director provided a broad overview of the Convention and its key provisions, with a particular focus on universalization. She elaborated on the various targeted approaches utilized by the CCM community to help Signatory States and States not Party to ratify or accede to the CCM. The participating ASEAN States were afforded the opportunity to ask questions about the CCM and share their experiences and challenges in joining or implementing the Convention.

Saint Lucia submitted its initial transparency report to the UN Secretary-General on 1 September 2021.

Saint Lucia CCM State Party no.110, acceded the CCM on 15 September 2020 and the Convention entered into force for it on 1 March 2021. According to Article 7 paragraph 1 of the Convention, “each State Party shall report to the Secretary-General of the United Nations as soon as practicable, and in any event not later than 180 days after the entry into force of this Convention for that State Party”. As such, the submission of an initial (and thereafter an annual report) is a legal obligation as well as an important transparency and confidence building measure among States Parties to the Convention.

The CCM ISU warmly congratulates Saint Lucia and strongly encourages States Parties with outstanding initial reports to submit their reports as a matter of priority. Initial reports are key for establishing the benchmark against which progress will be measured.

On 30 May 2008, the final draft of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) was adopted by 107 States in Dublin, Ireland. Thirteen years on, promoting the universalization of the Convention remains a centrepiece of the work of its States Parties.

States Parties are required to encourage other States to ratify or accede to the Convention. For a list of “Frequently Asked Questions” of countries prior to joining the CCM, as well as answers to the questions, click on the following link.

International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is an opportunity to raise awareness on the tremendous humanitarian and development problems caused by mines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war, as well as the importance of cooperation and coordination in mine action towards a world free from the threat of these weapons.

It is also an opportunity for the CCM community to reflect on the achievements made in the implementation of the Convention. Click here to read a brief overview of the state of implementation as at 4 April 2021.

APPEL À METTRE FIN À L’UTILISATION DES ARMES À SOUS-MUNITIONS

La Suisse, en tant que Présidente de la 2^ème Conférence d’examen de la Convention sur les armes à sous-munitions (CCM), est vivement préoccupée par les allégations d’emploi d’armes à sous-munitions dans différentes parties du monde.

Si la situation pandémique actuelle retarde la finalisation des travaux de la Conférence d’examen, la Suisse souhaite néanmoins réitérer son appel aux parties à tout conflit à respecter le droit international humanitaire et à s’abstenir d’employer les armes à sous-munitions. Celles-ci frappent en effet de manière indiscriminée et ont un impact disproportionné sur les civils et les biens civils. En outre, leur impact socioéconomique perdure longtemps après la fin des conflits.

La Suisse appelle tous les Etats qui ne l’ont pas encore fait à adhérer immédiatement à la Convention. Par ailleurs, elle encourage les Etats dont l’adhésion est rendue compliquée par des dynamiques sécuritaires régionales à envisager une adhésion coordonnée à la Convention.

CALL TO STOP THE USE OF CLUSTER MUNITIONS

Switzerland, as the President of the 2^nd Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), is deeply concerned about alleged uses of cluster munitions in different parts of the world.

While the current pandemic situation is delaying the finalisation of the work of the Review Conference, Switzerland would nevertheless like to reiterate its call to the parties to any conflict to respect international humanitarian law and to refrain from using cluster munitions. They indeed strike indiscriminately and have a disproportionate impact on civilians and civilian objects. Moreover, their socio-economic impact persists long after the conflicts have ended.

Switzerland calls on all States that have not yet done so to accede to the Convention immediately. Furthermore, it encourages States whose accession is complicated by regional security dynamics to consider coordinated accession to the Convention.

Congratulations, Zambia, for being State Party number 3 to have submitted its 2020 annual transparency report. Zambia (bronze), along with Saint Kitts and Nevis (gold) and Nicaragua (silver), have been awarded the early bird medals this year for their diligence in submitting their annual transparency reports well before the due date of 30 April 2021.

All other CCM States Parties are encouraged to submit their 2020 annual transparency report by the deadline as required under Article 7 of the Convention.

Reporting instructions and templates are available here.

Congratulations Nicaragua for being the second State Party to have submitted its 2020 annual transparency report, well ahead of the due date of 30 April. ¡Enhorabuena!

Nicaragua joins the gold-medallist, Saint Kitts and Nevis, in demonstrating the importance of submitting its annual transparency report on time, as required by Article 7 of the Convention.

Reporting templates are available in all six UN languages

Congratulations to Saint Kitts and Nevis for being the first CCM State Party to submit its annual transparency report in 2021! Saint Kitts has been leading by example in fulfilling its Article 7 obligation by achieving first place 3 out of the 4 times annual report early bird medals have been awarded (and still achieving third place last year).

States Parties are required by the Convention to submit their 2020 annual transparency report before the due date of 30 April 2021. The report covers the previous calendar year (1 January to 31 December 2020) and should be sent to the UN Secretary-General, via the Office for Disarmament Affairs at ccm@un.org. The ISU would also appreciate a copy of the submitted report at info@cmconvention.org.

To facilitate reporting, States Parties are recommended to use the reporting template, which is available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian.

On 7 December 2020, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the Resolution on the “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions” by 147 votes in favour, none against and 38 abstentions. A vote on the preambular paragraph 14 of the Resolution was carried out, with a recorded vote of 154 in favour, none against and 19 abstentions.

For more information on the 2020 CCM resolution, here is the dedicated webpage. The adopted resolution will be uploaded onto the webpage as soon as it is available.

On 3 December 2008, the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) was opened for signature in Oslo, Norway. During the signing ceremony, 94 States signed the treaty, 4 of which (the Holy See, Ireland, Norway and Sierra Leone) also submitted their instruments of ratification immediately.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in his message to the signing event stated that the CCM “marks a major step forward in global efforts to protect civilians and control the noxious spread of deadly, inhumane weapons”.

Since the Convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010, just over 10 years ago, around 1.5 million cluster munitions containing 178 million submunitions have been destroyed by States Parties and more than 500 square kilometres have been cleared of cluster munition remnants and released for productive use.

Risk education is conducted to ensure awareness among civilians living in or around cluster munition contaminated areas of the risks posed by such remnants. Furthermore, States Parties with cluster munition victims provide long-term assistance to survivors, families of victims and affected communities.