Cluster munition coalition

25 May 2016

Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

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At the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016, states and other partners reaffirmed their commitment to humanitarian principles and promised to put people at the center of humanitarian action.

Our Pledge

In support of the Summit outcomes, and in line with the UN Secretary-General's Agenda for Humanity and Proposed Core Commitments, the Cluster Munition Coalition will continue to:

  • Mobilize and advocate for the universalization and implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions
  • Contribute expertise and research data to inform meetings on the implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions
  • Campaign to mobilize states and global leaders to enhance respect for the ban on cluster munitions, a component of international humanitarian law
  • Track, collect, and disseminate data on violations of and gaps in compliance with the ban on cluster munitions - through our research arm, the Cluster Munition Monitor
  • Support and promote the clearance of cluster munition remnants and other explosive remnants of war, as well as education aimed at reducing the risk of injury

SUMMIT PREPARATIONS

Pledges by States
During the High-Level Leaders' Roundtable on Upholding the Norms that Safeguard Humanity, states are invited to take actions that will enhance the protection of civilians by strengthening compliance with international humanitarian law and human rights law.

It is an ideal opportunity to announce adhesion to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Here is a sample pledge from the organizers of the High-Level Roundtable:

  • [State] commits to become a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and to promote universal adherence to it.

States can also make communities safer by supporting the clearance of contaminated areas, and by speaking out to condemn the use of cluster munitions.

Other sample pledges are listed in the Roundtable's Proposed Core Commitments.

Cluster Munition Survivors
The Special Session to advance the Inclusion of persons with disabilities into humanitarian action is highly relevant for survivors of cluster munition explosions who are also persons with disabilities. Handicap International, a member of the Cluster Munition Coalition, has worked with other partners on a Chart and Action Plan to make humanitarian action more inclusive over the next three years.

Summit Preparation Highlights
Report of the UN Secretary-General for the Summit: "Urban areas have become death traps for thousands of civilians … Cluster munitions continue to maim, kill and devastate even years after hostilities are over, with children making up half of those killed and injured."

The UN Secretary-General urges all states that are not already party to core international humanitarian law instruments to accede to them with urgency, including the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It requests that governments and global leaders systematically condemn serious violations of the laws of war.

The UN Secretary-General calls on civil society to mobilize and advocate for accession to and implementation of international humanitarian law instruments.

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