Cluster Munitions Coalition

Signature of the Convention

The Convention on Cluster Munitions was signed in Oslo, Norway in December 2008 and has since been opened for signature and ratification at the United Nations headquarters in New York. By signing the Convention, a state proclaims its consent to be bound by its provisions once it ratifies the treaty. In addition, the state is obligated to not act against the “object and purpose” of the treaty until the treaty becomes law for that state. Every country that has signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions must still ratify it in order to become a State Party bound by the Convention’s provisions.

Entry into force

The countdown has begun for the Convention on Cluster Munitions to enter into force and become binding international law. Only 15 months after it opened for signature in Oslo, the 30th state ratified the Convention on 16 February 2010, triggering its entry into force on 1 August 2010. Once the Convention takes effect, states will be bound by all of its terms, and the clock begins ticking on deadlines for clearance of contaminated land and destruction of remaining stockpiles. The next milestone will be the First Meeting of States Parties, which is scheduled to be held in November 2010 in Lao PDR – the most cluster-bombed country in the world. The CMC urges as many states as possible to sign, ratify, and begin implementation of the Convention before the First Meeting of States Parties.

Who has joined the CCM

107 countries have signed the Convention and 37 have ratified: