The use of a weapon that disperses multiple smaller explosive submunitions, commonly called bomblets, over a wide area, prohibited for a state party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, adopted in Dublin in 2008 and in force since 2010, because a documented significant proportion of submunitions fail to detonate on impact, leaving unexploded ordnance scattered across the target area that continues to kill and injure civilians, often including children, long after the initial attack. The convention, ratified or acceded to by more than 100 countries as of the mid 2020s, obligates a state party to destroy its stockpiles and clear contaminated land, though a number of major military powers, including the United States, Russia, China and Israel, have not joined it, and documented use of cluster munitions has continued in a number of armed conflicts since the treaty's adoption.
Facts
Classification CodeA weapon is exempted from the Convention's definition of a prohibited cluster munition only if it contains fewer than ten submunitions, each weighing more than 4 kilograms, with each submunition able to detect and engage a single target object and containing electronic self-destruct and self-deactivation mechanisms 1 Elements of OffenseA state party must never use cluster munitions, nor develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer them to anyone directly or indirectly, nor assist, encourage or induce anyone to engage in an activity prohibited to a state party under the Convention 1 Notable ExampleDuring the 2006 Lebanon War, the United Nations estimated that up to 40 percent of Israeli cluster bomblets failed to explode on impact, leaving unexploded ordnance across the target areas 1 Jurisdiction VariationAs of September 2024, 112 states had ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions and 12 more had signed but not yet ratified it, while major military powers including the United States, Russia, China and Israel have not joined 1 Classification
Offense GradeSerious or Indictable Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Asia, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Europe, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: North America, found in there.
Sources
1. Convention on Cluster Munitions, Wikipedia
History section, Article 1 quotation
Use cluster munitions; Develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer to anyone, directly or indirectly, cluster munitions; Assist, encourage or induce anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State Party under this Convention.
Main text, Article 2 quotation
Permitted weapons must contain fewer than ten submunitions, and each must weigh more than 4 kilograms (8.8 lb), and each submunition must have the capability to detect and engage a single target object and contain electronic self-destruct and self-deactivation mechanisms.
History section
The United Nations estimated that up to 40% of Israeli cluster bomblets failed to explode on impact
Introduction
As of September 2024, a total of 124 states are committed to the goal of the convention, with 112 states that have ratified it, and 12 states that have signed the convention but not yet ratified it.
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.