Convention on Cluster Munitions

• Lithuania has become the first country to withdraw from the Convention on Cluster Munitions, citing security concerns amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

About the Convention

• Adopted: 2008, in Oslo, Norway.
• Objective: Prohibits the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions to protect civilians from unexploded submunitions.

Impact of Cluster Munitions:

• Dropped from aircraft or fired from artillery, exploding mid-air and dispersing multiple bomblets over a wide area.
• Unexploded submunitions pose a long-term threat to civilians.
• Signatories: Over 100 countries have signed/ratified the treaty.
• Non-Signatories: U.S., India, Russia, and China have not signed the convention.