Tánaiste Simon Coveney T.D. marks 10th anniversary of Convention on Cluster Munitions

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney T.D., has welcomed the considerable achievements of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which comprehensively banned the use of Cluster Bombs ten years ago.

Speaking on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Convention today, the Tánaiste said:

“Ireland is proud to have played a leadership role in the negotiation of the truly historic and ground-breaking Convention on Cluster Munitions. 10 years ago today the international community met in Dublin to adopt the Convention banning the use of Cluster Bombs. Ireland was among the first States to sign and ratify the Convention, which entered into force in 2010, and we remain fully committed to its implementation.

"In the last decade, over 1.4 million cluster munitions and 175 million sub-munitions have been destroyed, representing 98% of all stockpiles declared by States Parties. This is a considerable achievement by any standard, but continued and sustained action is still needed in order to finish the job.

"As of today, there are 103 States Parties and 17 Signatory States to the Convention, representing over 60% of States in the world. Ireland continues to take every opportunity to encourage States not party to the Convention to join as soon as possible.”

ENDS
Press Office
30 May 2018

Notes for Editors

• 10 years ago, on 30 May 2008, the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions culminated in the adoption of the final draft of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). The Convention was adopted by 107 States as a concrete demonstration of concern about the humanitarian consequences and unacceptable harm caused by cluster munitions to civilians.

• The heart of the Convention is an immediate and unconditional ban on all cluster munitions which cause unacceptable harm to civilians.  Each State Party undertakes never in any circumstances to use, develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer cluster munitions, or to assist another party in doing so.  An important innovation and feature of the Convention are the provisions which address the needs of victims, in line with its similar predecessor the Anti-Personnel Landmine Convention or Ottawa Convention.

• Ireland is closely identified with the CCM, and continues to see its successful implementation and universalisation as a priority. Ireland remains committed in this regard; from chairing of the negotiations in Dublin, working as the co-coordinator on Clearance from 2011-2013, to our ongoing support to the CCM Implementation Support Unit.

• 29 States Parties out of 39 States that have reported holding cluster munitions stocks have since destroyed all their cluster munition stockpiles, with a combined total of about 1.4 million cluster munitions and 175 million submunitions. This amounts to a 98% destruction of stockpiles that had been declared by States Parties with 4 more expected to complete in 2018.