Lithuania will withdraw from the Convention on Cluster Munitions on March 6, 2025. It has become the first State to withdraw from the Convention since its adoption in 2008 and from any disarmament treaty. HI, a founding member of the Cluster Munition Coalition, profoundly deplores the decision and calls for Lithuania to return to the Convention.  

• We, HI, a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines—Cluster Munition Coalition (ICBL—CMC), call on States parties to reaffirm their strong commitment to the Convention and the stigmatization of cluster munitions.
• We oppose any position that would try to re-legitimate banned weapons such as cluster munitions or landmines.  
• We remind that cluster munitions are indiscriminate weapons that do not distinguish between combatants and civilians and that the vast majority of victims are civilians (93%), many of them children.
• We condemned any rationale on national security without any consideration for the protection of civilians.
• We denounce fallacious arguments saying that the use of cluster munitions is a military added value and is a powerful deterrent.
• We denounce the Lithuanian decision that participates in reversing the global trend we have seen in the last 30 years to ban indiscriminate weapons such as landmines and cluster munitions.

Alma Taslidžan - HI’s Disarmament and Protection of Civilians Advocacy Manager, and President of International Campaign to Ban Landmines Board states,

“Lithuania’s decision paves the way to a dangerous trend as it may encourage other states to reconsider their commitments to humanitarian disarmament treaties, particularly in times of heightened security concerns. It undermines the global stigma against cluster munitions, weapons known for indiscriminate harm and long-lasting effects on civilians, with 93% of casualties being civilians in 2023 (Monitor 2024), including children.” She continues, “The Convention must be defended, and we are calling States Parties to reaffirm their strong commitment to this norma. The Oslo Convention has proven to be effective in protecting civilians from this indiscriminate weapon.”

The Context and the Process of the Withdrawal

Lithuania's Parliament voted to confirm the government's decision to withdraw from the Convention on Cluster Munition on July 18, 2024. The withdrawal process began when Lithuania officially notified the United Nations of its intention to withdraw on September 6, 2024. Per the Convention's rules, the withdrawal takes effect six months after the notification, which sets the effective date to March 6, 2025.  

After Lithuania's withdrawal, 123 States will be committed to the goals of the Convention on Cluster Munition.

Lithuania's decision comes at a time when the stigmatization of such a weapon has been weakened: banned weapons like cluster munitions and landmines have been extensively used in conflicts like Ukraine and Syria, causing significant civilian casualties and suffering. It also follows the US decision to deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine in 2023.  

The Rationale Behind the Decision  

Lithuania said its withdrawal is based on security considerations, particularly in light of Russia's actions in Ukraine. Lithuania's arguments—that we live in exceptional times, that cluster munitions can be a good deterrent against a potential foe, and that they have great military utility—are inadmissible.

Cluster munitions have been banned by the majority of states in the world for a reason: They cannot distinguish between civilians and combatants. They leave a deadly legacy of unexploded ordnance that threatens communities for decades as up to 40% of these weapons do not explode at the impact and leave lands contaminated with bomblets.

In these difficult times, it would make more sense for Lithuania to stay part of the majority of responsible states.
Military Added-Value of Cluster Munition Questioned

Several analyses question the military added value of cluster munitions, for example: In the Kosovo conflict (1998-1999), the UK Ministry of Defence found that the use of cluster munitions was not adapted to the ground and striking single vehicles accurately would have been preferable. During the 2003 Gulf War, US forces had to halt advances due to the risk of detonating their unexploded submunitions. Approximately 100 soldiers and 100 clearance personnel were injured by these duds. The US Army's Third Infantry Division considered one type of cluster munition (DPICM) as "losers" and "relics" of the Cold War after the Gulf War. (https://humanitariandisarmament.org/2024/10/04/the-convention-on-cluster-munitions-under-pressure-states-parties-reaction-to-the-lithuanian-withdrawal/)

Cluster Munitions and their Long-Term Threat  

Cluster munitions are large weapons that contain dozens or hundreds of smaller weapons known as submunitions. They do not discriminate between soldiers and civilians. However, because their submunitions are spread over a wide area, cluster munitions harm civilians during an attack, mainly when used in populated areas. Additionally, many submunitions do not explode on impact but remain a threat, like landmines, until disturbed.

Laos is classified as "massively contaminated," with cluster munition-contaminated areas covering more than 1,000km² of land. It remains the country most contaminated by cluster munition remnants globally, over 50 years after US forces widely used the weapons during the war in Southeast Asia. The initial estimation of cluster munition contamination area in Lao PDR amounted to approximately 8,470 km².

Parties to the Convention  

As of December 2023, 124 states were members of the Cluster Munition Coalition. Of these, 112 countries have ratified or acceded to the treaty, and 12 countries have signed but not yet ratified it. The US has not joined the Cluster Munition Coalition.

Lithuania signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on December 3, 2008, in Oslo, Norway. The country was among the first to sign this international agreement, which was adopted in Dublin on May 30, 2008. Lithuania later ratified the Convention on March 24, 2011, becoming an entire state party to the agreement.
Worrisome Development 

Cluster munition attacks killed or wounded at least 987 people in 2022, and 219 in 2023, according to the Cluster Munition Monitor. Russia has used cluster munitions repeatedly in Ukraine since February 2022. Use from Ukrainian forces has also been reported. In July 2023, the United States began transferring an unspecified quantity of its stockpile to Ukraine. The Myanmar military and Syrian government forces used cluster munitions, causing further civilian harm. None of these countries have signed or ratified the International Convention against cluster munition.