These weapons, which often endanger the lives of civilians, are banned by the 2008 Oslo Accords, signed by 123 countries, excluding notably the United States, Ukraine and Russia.
A new threshold is being crossed in the type of armament offered to Kiev. The United States will supply cluster munitions to Ukraine to help it defend against Russia, the White House announced on Friday, July 7. “It’s a difficult decision. We put it off for a while,” said Presidential National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, adding it was “the right decision.”
These bombs, already in use by the Russian army, indiscriminately and over a large upper area disperse a multitude of small explosives (from a few dozen to 600), a large part of which does not explode and is buried in the ground. They then fall de facto into the category of anti-personnel mines. Militarily, they make it possible to hit large numbers of enemy soldiers, disable an airport runway, or mine a vast area to impede the enemy’s advance.
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In violation of international humanitarian law, these bombs hit civilians and soldiers indiscriminately. Experts estimate that between 5 and 40% of submunitions fail to explode on impact and can therefore remain in the ground for decades. “It’s a long-term death sentence for civilians. It will be people who are not yet born,” denounces the organization Handicap International.
Ukraine has committed to minimizing the risks to the civilian population, says Washington
The White House claimed President Joe Biden made his decision in consultation with allies and after a “unanimous recommendation” from his administration. She assures that Ukraine has given “written” guarantees for the use of these weapons in order to “minimize the risks to the civilian population”.
A total of 123 countries, with the notable exception of Syria, the United States, Russia, China and Israel, signed the 2008 Oslo Accords, which came into effect in 2010 and bans the production, stockpiling, sale and use of cluster munitions .
The American decision “is a step backwards that undermines the significant strides that the international community has made in its attempt to protect civilians from such dangers during and after armed conflicts,” said the non-governmental organization Amnesty International, calling on Washington to endorse its decision rethink.