The treaty

The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions provides the only international framework for eradicating these weapons.

Its disarmament provisions comprehensively prohibit the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions, as well as assistance with any of these banned activities, and require that stockpiled cluster munitions be destroyed within eight years. The convention requires the clearance of areas contaminated by cluster munition remnants within 10 years, and assistance to fulfill the rights of victims of cluster munitions. The convention also calls on countries in a position to provide assistance to help others fulfill their obligations.