Cluster munition attacks spike casualty toll as world shows steadfast resolve for humanitarian ban

(Geneva, 31 August 2017) – States are continuing to ratify and implement the international treaty prohibiting cluster munitions while new use of these notorious weapons in Syria and Yemen has caused even more civilian casualties, according to the annual monitoring report released today by the Cluster Munition Coalition at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva.

(Tokyo, 23 May 2017) – While 119 nations have joined the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions to rid the world of cluster munitions, in the past four years, 166 financial institutions invested US$31 billion in companies that produce cluster munitions. Investing in cluster munitions is morally unacceptable with devastating consequences when these weapons are used among civilians. Yet, financial institutions turn a blind eye and continue investing in companies that produce them.

Over the five-year period since 2011, international support to mine action peaked in 2012 at $498.9 million, followed by a sharp decline in the next years all the way down to $352 million in 2015.

The top ten donors to mine action between 2011-2015 were: the United States, Japan, the European Union, Norway, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Sweden.

(Geneva, 19 December 2016) – On Monday, 19 December, Ahmed Asirir, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, announced that the use of UK-made BL-755 cluster munitions in Yemen has been stopped, also confirming that these cluster munitions had previously been used by the coalition in Yemen. This followed an inquiry into this use by the Saudi-led coalition, conducted in dialogue with the UK.