At least 1,172 people were killed or injured by cluster bombs – banned in more than a hundred countries – in 2022, eight times more than in 2021, an increase caused by its use in the war in Ukraine by both the Russian and Ukrainian armies, the latter with weapons provided by the United States.
These are the main conclusions of the 14th annual report of the Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC), which leads the campaign for more countries to sign the 2008 Oslo Convention against these weapons, for now with 112 States parties and another 12 signatories, although with the absence of the great powers.
The death toll is the highest the CMC confirms in a year since it began reporting in 2010.
The study indicates a resurgence of attacks with this type of dispersal weapon: if in 2021 the 149 confirmed victims died or were injured when remnants of this weapon exploded, none in attacks, Last year, 987 of the 1,172 victims were due to direct actions in which these weapons were used.
In most of the cases (890 victims) these actions with cluster bombs were perpetrated in Ukraine, although its indiscriminate use was also detected in attacks by the government armies of Syria and Burma (Myanmar), according to the CMC report.
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In addition to those three countries, Cluster bomb victims were identified last year in Azerbaijan, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon and Yemen, in those cases, not by direct attacks but by the explosion of remains of these weapons used in the past.
95% of the victims of these cluster bombs are civilians, warns the document, which also stresses that 71% of those killed or injured by accidents related to remains of this weapon are children.
“The shocking increase in new civilian casualties caused by cluster munitions serves as a stark reminder of the devastating effect these heinous weapons have on civilians, including children,” CMC Director Tamar Gabelnick said at the report launch.
“All countries that have not banned these weapons must do so immediately, there is no excuse for their continued use,” he added.
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All countries that have not banned these weapons must do so immediately
The authors of the report expressed their concern about the recent decision of the US Government, last July, to approve the shipment of cluster munitions to Ukraine, a measure that the CMC recalled was criticized by leaders around the world.
“The new transfers and use of cluster munitions are of serious concern due to the documented harm to civilians and the fact that most countries have banned these weapons,” said Human Rights Watch activist Mary Wareham. , who participated in editing the report.
Powers have not acceded to the convention
Cluster bomb attacks, by land or air, disperse multiple submunitions or minibombs over a wide area, and many of them do not explode on initial impact, leaving debris that can indiscriminately cause death and injury over a long period of time, similar to antipersonnel mines.
The CMC underlines the progress of the convention for its prohibition, to which the last country to join has been South Sudan last month, and for the elimination of this weapon by the signatory countries: States parties have collectively destroyed 99% of their stocks, approximately 1.48 million pieces of munitions.
Bulgaria, recalls the study, destroyed the last of its cluster bomb stocks this year, and together with two others (Peru and Slovakia) neutralized 4,166 munitions and 134,598 submunitions between 2022 and the first half of 2023.
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However, powers such as the United States, Russia, China, India or Brazil (in addition to Ukraine itself) still do not adhere to the convention and they continue to form part of the group of 16 nations that still produce this type of weapon, a situation that is repeated even among countries of the European Union such as Poland, Romania and Greece.
At least 29 nations are contaminated by remnants of cluster munitions, including 11 signatories to the convention, and only 11 other party states retain munitions of this type for “research and training” purposes, with Germany retaining the largest number.
On the US, the report notes that the last manufacturer of cluster munitions ended its production in 2016, but the country is developing “substitute” weapons with similar effects and that could fall within the definition of prohibited weapons by the Oslo Convention.
EFE
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