Supplying cluster bombs to Ukraine sends the wrong message to the world

 In 2008, several countries signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibited the possession and use of these weapons, and the Convention has become an important part of international humanitarian law that prohibits the use of these weapons and focuses on the needs of civilians. Therefore, the announcement by United States days before NATO summit in Vilnius that it will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions sends the wrong message to the world on a large scale, especially to countries that have not yet joined the agreement.

To date, the number of state parties to the Convention is 111, and there are 12 signatories. It prohibits the use, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions. It requires countries that have joined it to destroy stockpiles of such weapons, clear areas contaminated by unexploded submunition, and provide assistance to victims.

But United States and Ukraine have not yet signed the agreement, as well as China and India, while some European countries have joined the agreement, including NATO member states such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.

So far, no NATO country has provided Ukraine with cluster bombs, and Turkey and Ukraine have denied reports that Ankara has done so, although Russia used them throughout its war against Ukraine, and the latter also used its Soviet-era stockpile of cluster bombs.

In recent wars, failure rates have remained high, ranging from 10% to 40%, although they were much lower in the testing phase.

The repercussions of these unexploded submunitions were comparable to, and in some cases worse than, the long-term use of antipersonnel mines.

These munitions remain for years and even decades after use and are often picked up by children who believe that they are toys, and when they explode, they are maimed or killed, and the result is the same, whether the one who fired these munitions is an enemy or their side.

The use of these weapons also violates international humanitarian law, that is, the principle of distinction (the need in any armed conflict to distinguish between combatants and civilians and between military and civilian objects).

The concerns are also related to the violation of the principle of proportionality and the rule against indiscriminate attacks.

On the other hand, supporters of the US decision believe that the number of US cluster munitions that will not explode is much less than the number of munitions and landmines that have not exploded in Ukraine.

They also say that the number of Ukrainian civilians who will be killed will be much more if Ukraine does not continue its counter-offensive and that Ukraine will lose the war if it is not provided with adequate ammunition.