6 - Humanitarian Disarmament Consolidated?

Summary

The chapter explains the background to, and the key elements of, the Convention on Cluster Munitions 2008 (CCM) and examines some of the parallels between this treaty and its immediate predecessor, the Anti-personnel Landmines Convention. It argues that while the CCM is a consolidation of humanitarian disarmament in some important respects, its negotiation, formulation and implementation reveal some complexities in the theory and practice of humanitarian disarmament. The chapter explains how the way cluster munitions are defined in the treaty has essentially reversed the burden of proof in terms of showing unacceptable harm being wrought by a weapon. In this respect, the treaty is a significant advance in the practice of humanitarian disarmament. However, it is also troubling in some respects most notably its weak provisions on user state responsibility and more onerous obligations being placed on victim states. More than ten years on from its conclusion, it is not clear that it has been a resounding success in terms of on-going use of cluster munitions and the slow rate of clearance of unexploded munitions.