Cluster Munitions
Small Arms and Light Weapon Control | Mine Action | Cluster Munitions
Cluster munitions are weapons that, when launched, scatter smaller bombs, called ‘submunitions’, over an area that can be the size of several football fields. These bomblets are usually designed to explode upon impact, but they often fail to do so, rendering the contaminated land unsuitable for civilian use. Because of their widespread effects, cluster munitions do not discriminate between civilian areas and military targets. Furthermore, the rate at which cluster bombs fail to explode upon impact makes them particularly lethal to civilians long after conflicts have ended. In brief, where cluster munitions have been used in or near populated areas, homes and communities are turned into defacto minefields.
Since World War II, cluster munitions have been used in at least 32 countries and territories, killing and maiming civilians for years after conflicts have ended. Because so many of the submunitions fail to explode as intended, these weapons continue to affect families and communities long after the fighting has ceased. In addition to killing innocent civilians, cluster munitions contribute to household food insecurity by contaminating arable land and killing livestock. They create health and hygiene problems by blocking access to shelter, water and sanitation, exacerbate poverty and present barriers to economic recovery and development.
Governments face a daunting challenge to rebuild fractured societies after periods of conflict. This challenge is made that much more difficult where cluster munitions have been used, rendering valuable land perilous until it can be cleared of explosive debris. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partners with governments who face this very challenge – helping them to make the environment safe for reconstruction and development.
In May 2008, member states together with UN organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and civil society, gathered in Dublin to negotiate a new international instrument. 107 states adopted the Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibiting the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions. The Convention – the first instrument of international law that pertains to cluster munitions – provides a framework to clear cluster munitions remnants as well as to assist victims of this insidious weapon. The Convention will be opened for signature at the Oslo Signing Conference.
 Find out more about UNDP initiatives in cluster munitions in Fast Facts: Cluster Munitions (pdf) and mine action in our Fast Facts: Mine Action (pdf)
Proposal
 Learn more about UNDP programming in our Donor Proposal on Conflict Prevention and Recovery (pdf).
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Listen to UNDP's Good Will Ambassador, Didier Drogba talk about the impact of cluster munitions on civilians.
Lao PDR gives lead on significant humanitarian and disarmament treaty
The Lao PDR, as the state most affected by cluster munitions on a per capita basis, played a leading role in campaigning for this worldwide ban on the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs. Read more...
Hazardous Ground: Cluster Munitions and UXO in the Lao PDR
Read a story about a young woman, Rum Vet, a cluster bomb survivor from Cambodia.
Video
 Watch a video about small arms control featuring Sara Sekkenes, Senior Advisor for the Conflict Team.
 Prohibiting Cluster Munitions: Our Chance to Protect Civilians, UNDP, 2008 (pdf)
Cluster munitions have been
used in at least 30 countries and territories since World War II. They kill and
injure civilians not only during attacks but also for years after the conflict
has ended. Read more...
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UNDP Urges Governments to sign Historic Convention Banning Cluster Munitions, December 2008 English | French | Spanish |
Momentum Builds as Cluster Bomb Ban Signing Approaches, Kampala Conference on Cluster Munitions, September 2008
In May 2008, UN organizations together with more than 100 countries, gathered in Dublin to begin negotiations for the adoption of a cluster munitions ban. Read UNDP Associate Administrator Ad Melkert's Address to the Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions.
Examples of the Impact of Cluster Munitions on Civilians
Secretary-General's Message to the 2007 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Conventional Weapons on 7 November 2007 (pdf)
Lima Conference on Cluster Munitions, May 2007 (pdf)
Speech at the Conference on Cluster Munitions, Lima, Peru, 23-25 May 2007, by Paul Eavis, Policy Adviser on Armed Violence and Cluster Munitions, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, UNDP (pdf)
Speech at the Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions, Soria Moria, Norway, 22-23 February 2007, by Peter Batchelor, Chief, Conflict Prevention and Recovery Team, BCPR, UNDP (pdf)
Speech at the Meeting of the Group of Governmental Experts of the Convention on Conventional Weapons, Geneva, 20 June 2007, by Tim Horner, UNDP STA at the UXO National Regulatory Authority in Lao PDR (pdf)
Speech at the Regional Civil Society Forum on Cluster Munitions, Lima, Peru, 22 May 2007, by Paul Eavis, Policy Adviser on Armed Violence and Cluster Munitions, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, UNDP (pdf)
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