Why do cluster munitions pose a particular hazard to civilians during hostilities and post-conflict reconstruction? How can the international community deal with these hazards? This guide by the Geneva Centre for Humanitarian Demining provides practical information on addressing the impact of unexploded cluster munitions on civilians.
Explosive remnants of war (ERW) pose hazards to civilian populations. Cluster munitions, by design, deliver submunitions over a wide area and are a specific post-conflict hazard to settled and returnee populations. They are militarily effective and versatile weapons that usually use a combination of anti-personnel and armour piercing submunitions. One of the major humanitarian concerns regarding the use of cluster munitions is the numbers that fail to explode and become ‘blinds’. The impact of submunitions during and after a cluster strike can be devastating to local communities. Even low failure rate can result in a large number of blinds because of the high quantities often delivered. In a 2006 global study, Handicap International concluded that 98 per cent of recorded cluster munitions casualties were civilians.
Their effect on civilians and reconstruction efforts include:
- They are likely to injure or kill several people at once and are a greater hazard to children than landmines.
- The most severe impact is human, but there are also serious socio-economic consequences. Contamination with blinds inhibits relief and reconstruction, prevents refugees from returning home, and disrupts livelihood activities.
- For survivors, long term injury and disability is probable, although they are less likely to suffer traumatic amputation of limbs than anti-personnel mine survivors.
- Boys and young men are a typically high-risk group as far as submunitions are concerned. Disability among this pool of existing or future manpower has broad consequences for families and communities. Gender is an important issue as women and girls’ roles change significantly when a male family member is killed or injured.
Cluster munitions are unreliable, inaccurate, prone to indiscriminate use, and pose severe and lasting risks to civilians from blinds. No international law or treaty has specific rules for their use. The international rules that generally govern armed conflict apply to these as well as all weapons. However, the application of these rules to cluster munitions is challenging, given the difficulty in foreseeing beyond their immediate threat to civilians. Existing international obligations do not address the threat posed by cluster munitions. In February 2007 the UN, ICRC, the Cluster Munition Coalition (a group of 200 NGOs) and a group of states led by Norway, adopted the Oslo Declaration. Under this, participating states commit to a legally binding declaration that will prohibit cluster weapons, provide adequate assistance to victims, and decontaminate affected areas. With regard to practical issues of assistance and decontamination, the report recommends:
- Completion and suspension reports for clearing and disposal of blinds should be the basis for further planning and analysis, and should emphasise community needs.
- Cross-checking target data against actual strike areas can save valuable time and resources.
- Risk education should address people’s vulnerabilities rather than simply educating them about hazard.
- In addition to medical care and assistance in coping with disability, survivors need support in reintegrating into society. Assistance should be linked to public health, rehabilitation, and poverty reduction strategies.
