Cluster Munitions

Cluster munitions are containers — bombs, rockets, artillery shells, or missiles — that open in flight and disperse anywhere from dozens to hundreds of explosive submunitions across a target area, typically the size of several football fields. They were developed during the Second World War and used extensively by the United States in Southeast Asia, by Soviet forces in Afghanistan, by coalition forces in Iraq, by Israel in Lebanon, and by both Russia and Ukraine in the ongoing war that began in 2022.

The humanitarian concern is twofold. First, the wide dispersal pattern makes it difficult to distinguish military targets from civilians, particularly in populated areas. Second, a significant percentage of submunitions fail to detonate on impact and remain on the ground as de facto landmines, killing and maiming civilians — disproportionately children — for decades after a conflict ends. Laos, bombed heavily between 1964 and 1973, remains the most contaminated country per capita.

The principal legal instrument is the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), adopted in Dublin in May 2008 and entering into force on 1 August 2010. It prohibits the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions and requires clearance of contaminated areas and victim assistance. As of the mid-2020s the treaty has well over 100 states parties, but several major producers and users — including the United States, Russia, China, India, Israel, Pakistan, and Ukraine — have not joined.

In July 2023 the Biden administration announced the transfer of US cluster munitions to Ukraine, reigniting debate among NATO allies, many of whom are CCM parties. Lithuania announced its withdrawal from the CCM in 2024, the first state party to do so. Cluster munitions remain a recurring agenda item in the UN General Assembly First Committee and in CCW review conferences in Geneva.