The Report must be submitted to the UNODA by the end of June for translation. We therefore kindly ask for your feedback by Monday June 24, at the latest. Please send your comments to andreas (at) clusterconvention.org.

The draft Lusaka Progress Report can be found here.

About the Report
The Lusaka Progress Report is based on publicly available information, including in particular statements made at formal and informal meetings under the Convention, as well as national transparency reports. It is an attempt to summarize how far we have come in implementing the CCM, and to identify some of the remaining challenges. On the basis of this analysis, the report then presents some questions that may be addressed by the 4MSP. Please note that neither the trends or the figures, nor the challenges or questions identified, are meant to be exhaustive. Many variables, challenges and questions have been left out in the preparation of this report, and those included have been chosen on the basis of their perceived importance to the implementation of the CCM.

A statement issued at a seminar says that African states are gravely concerned about the global “recent and on-going use of cluster munitions as well as by their effects,” and that the use of these weapons“ has led to mounting numbers of victims, including women and children.”

At the seminar, representatives of 36 African governments met with civil society campaigners and the International Committee of the Red Cross to discuss the universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

The statement goes on to urge the immediate discontinuation of the use of cluster bombs and calls on African countries that have not yet done so to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international agreement signed by 112 countries (of which 83 have ratified) to ban the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions and provide assistance to victims. Twelve African nations are yet to join the convention.

Cluster munitions are explosive devices contained in larger canisters that, when released mid-flight, spread across a broad area, delivering a series of small explosions. According to the Coalition on Cluster Munitions, they have been used in at least 24 countries and three territories in recent decades and unexploded cluster bombs remain a serious hazard and impediment to development in many post conflict societies.

“Besides the indiscriminate nature of these weapons and the high probability that they can harm civilians, cluster bombs are also highly likely to fail to detonate,” said Blaise Narteh-Messan, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Togo to the United Nations in Geneva, and Co-Chair of the meeting. “In some cases, this leaves thousands of tonnes of ordnance in the ground, posing a deadly threat to farmers, children and anyone using the land – sometimes for decades.”

The purpose of the seminar was to further extend the reach of the convention throughout Africa, and help African states considering ratification or accession to overcome the challenges they face.

Although this is a global problem, 14 African nations are believed to have a cluster bomb problem, making it one of the most affected continents, and African states played a strong role in getting the treaty off the ground and signed in Oslo in 2008.

Twenty three African nations have signed and ratified the convention into law, and nineteen more have signed it but have not yet ratified the document. “We urge the twelve African countries that have not yet signed the CCM to become States Parties at the earliest opportunity,” said Narteh-Messan.

Ambassador Kongstad, together with representatives from the Norwegian Embassy in Beograd, meets civil society representatives Jelena Vicentic and Branislav Kapetanovic. Photo (c) Ingunn Vatne/Norwegian MFA

From 12-15 May 2013, the President of the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Ambassador Steffen Kongstad made a visit to Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The visit was occasioned by a Workshop in Skopje on the Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, organised by RACVIAC, the Government Office for Mine Action of the Republic of Croatia, the Norwegian People’s Aid and the Ministry of Defence of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

In his statement to the workshop, Ambassador Kongstad emphasised that the Convention on Cluster Munitions has made considerable difference: “The use of cluster munitions is today generally considered unacceptable, illegal and unbecoming of responsible members of the international community. Many former users, producers and stockpilers have taken steps to rid themselves of these weapons, and the international market for such ammunition has virtually disappeared. This is all very much thanks to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.”

While in the region, Ambassador Kongstad also visited Serbia. There he attended the opening of the third phase of a clearance completion program in Bujanovac together with the Serbian Mine Action Centre and Norwegian People’s Aid, and had meetings with representatives of the Serbian Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs, as well as civil society.  The purpose of the visit was to promote accession to the Convention by Serbia, and to discuss ways by which the international community can assist Serbia clear contaminated areas and destroy its stockpiles of cluster munitions. With the exception of Serbia, all of the countries of the Former Yugoslavia are States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

“As a country affected by cluster munitions, Serbia knows better than most other States, how these weapons are harmful to civilians, even long after hostilities have ended. As President of the Third Meeting of States Parties, I encourage all States not party to the Convention to ratify or accede as soon as possible”, said Kongstad.

For Ambassador Kongstad’s Statement at the workshop in Skopje, please click here.

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All use of cluster munitions is banned by the Convention on Cluster Munitions, due to their indiscriminate effects and unacceptable humanitarian consequences. 111 States have joined the Convention as parties and signatories.  The Convention has established a norm against use that is also respected by states not party.

Ambassador Kongstad is particularly concerned that the use of cluster munitions in Syria is of an unprecedented magnitude. “The pattern of use in Syria demonstrates that it is deliberate and intentional, and takes place with complete disregard of International Humanitarian Law and established rules governing armed conflict.”

While there have been a few instances of very limited use since the Convention was adopted in 2008, Syria marks the only reported example of intended and sustained use of these weapons since then. Several States Parties and States outside the Convention have, together with the United Nations, the ICRC and Civil Society actors in the Cluster Munition Coalition, previously condemned the use of cluster munitions in Syria.

“The categorical response by a broad range of concerned actors shows how this weapon is stigmatized, and useless for all other purposes than terrorizing civilians. However, the horrible situation necessitates that States Parties and others continue to communicate clearly to those responsible in Syria that attacks on civilians in general and the use of cluster munitions in particular must stop.”

“The systematic and brave efforts by Human Rights Watch and their local partners inside the conflict zone are crucial to making the outside world aware of the grim realities and the hardships endured by civilians in present Syria. This report demonstrates another important aspect of the partnership between states and civil society that underpins the Convention on Cluster Munitions” says Ambassador Kongstad.