Cluster munitions

Mines, cluster munitions and other unexploded remnants of war threaten the lives of civilians and hamper post-conflict reconstruction and development.

The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) prohibits the use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions.  The UK became the 32nd State Party to the CCM in 2010.  By the end of 2012, 111 states had signed the convention, of whom 77 are States Parties (up from 67 at the end of 2011).  The UK will continue to work alongside fellow States Parties and NGOs to encourage more states to sign and ratify the CCM.

The UK withdrew all cluster munitions from operational service in 2008.  By the end of 2012, over three quarters of these munitions, containing over 30 million sub-munitions, had been destroyed.  We intend to destroy the remainder by the end of 2013, five years ahead of the CCM deadline.

The UK remains fully committed to the convention.  Recent credible reports claiming to show the Syrian regime’s use of cluster munitions against its own people provides a stark reminder of the impact that these weapons can have on civilians.  Between 2010 and 2013 we will have committed more than £30 million on work to clear mines, cluster munitions and other unexploded remnants of war in a DFID Mine Action Programme which will benefit 450,000 people, clear at least 1,400 hectares of land and open up the potential for new livelihoods for mine-affected communities in eight countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.