Entry into force: Cluster Munitions Convention

Following increased concern about the use and proliferation of cluster munitions, member states of the United Nations embarked on an ambitious programme to prohibit their use. In May 2008, member states, together with UN organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and civil society, gathered in Dublin to negotiate a new international instrument. The Convention on Cluster Munitions was signed later that year (December 2008) in Oslo.

The Convention entered into force 1 August 2010, and the historic day was celebrated all around the world, including Vientiane, Laos.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) prohibits the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions. The convention is the first instrument of international law that pertains to cluster munitions and provides groundbreaking provisions to assist victims of cluster munitions and facilitate their socioeconomic inclusion. Furthermore, the new treaty obliges state parties to provide technical, financial and material assistance to state parties affected by cluster munitions to clear unexploded munitions, freeing up much-needed land.

The First Meeting of States Parties will take place in Vientiane, Laos, 8 - 12 November 2010. Future States Parties will accede to the Convention by submitting their ratifications to the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Please read more about UNDP's work on cluster munitions in Lao PDR: http://www.undplao.org/whatwedo/crisisprev.php

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• cluster
• munitions