Cluster munitions are internationally banned because they cause untold suffering among the civilian population. According to Human Rights Watch, the number of victims fell last year – and for a specific reason.
The number of reported victims of cluster munitions has fallen significantly in the past year. However, this is due to the fact that not all cases are registered and reported in conflict zones, reports the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), which writes the annual cluster munitions report.
219 people were reported killed or injured by cluster munitions, 47 percent of them minors. A year earlier, the figure was more than 1,000. For the second year in a row, the majority of victims were in Ukraine, the report says. However, there is no exact number. Both Russian and Ukrainian armed forces, which were supplied by the USA, used the munitions.
What is cluster munition?
Cluster munitions are the name given to many smaller explosive devices that are fired in containers from aircraft and rocket launchers. They are usually distributed randomly and over a large area and explode. Many also end up in the ground as unexploded bombs and kill or injure people years later. The vast majority of victims are civilians.
The Convention on the Prohibition of Cluster Munitions (Oslo Convention) came into force in 2010. It has been ratified by more than 110 states. The convention includes a categorical ban on the use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions.
Criticism of Germany
Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticizes Germany because the US armed forces transported their cluster munitions stored here through Germany last year and sent them to Ukraine, as documented by the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR).
“All members of the Convention should speak out clearly against the storage of cluster munitions abroad and against the transit of cluster munitions through their territory, airspace or waters,” demanded HRW. Germany is a state party to the Convention, the USA, Ukraine and Russia are not.
Only ten States Parties still retain operational cluster munitions for study and training purposes, and Germany has the largest quantity of them.
28 countries contaminated with leftover ammunition
According to the report, cluster munitions were also used in Myanmar and Syria last year. 28 countries and territories are believed to be partially contaminated with this munition. 83 square kilometers of land were cleared last year, and a good 73,000 pieces of munitions or munition remnants were destroyed. HRW is writing the report for the International Campaign Against Landmines and Cluster Munitions (ICBL-CMC).
Reports on cluster munitions
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
