01 March 2023

Nigeria Becomes 111th State Party to Convention on Cluster Munitions

 Nigeria CCM Ratification 599

(Geneva, 1 March) - The International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munition Coalition extends a warm congratulations to Nigeria on becoming the 111th State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). 

With its ratification on 28 February, Nigeria joins more than half of the countries in the world in clearly condemning cluster munitions, weapons used widely in Syria and Ukraine, and responsible for indiscriminately killing civilians. 

Nigeria is a long-time supporter of the CCM, having participated in in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions, joining formal adoption of convention text in Dublin in 2008, and signing the international ban on the weapon in 2009. Nigeria has frequently participated in treaty proceedings, including hosting another CCM Africa Regional meeting in 2022. 

The country is not known to have produced or exported cluster munitions according to Cluster Munition Monitor, but has imported them in the past and Nigeria has sought support and technical assistance to destroy stockpiles of the weapon.

The ratification comes two weeks after State Party Cameroon hosted a Francophone Africa workshop where ICBL-CMC contributed, urging states to join the CCM without delay. 

The ICBL-CMC looks forward to welcoming Nigeria at the 11th Meeting of States Parties taking place in September in Geneva.