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| People assess the damage caused by the Syrian-Russian military alliance’s cluster munition attack on the Maram camp for displaced people in northwestern Syria, November 6, 2022. © 2022, Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images |
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New Cluster Munitions Use Challenges International BanCivilians going about their daily lives are still dying from cluster munition attacks 15 years after these weapons were outlawed globally. In 2022, cluster munition attacks killed or wounded at least 987 people – 95 percent of whom were civilians. A new report from the Cluster Munition Coalition, a global coalition co-founded by Human Rights Watch, shows how countries using these weapons keep civilians in the line of fire. *Human Rights Watch works to advance humanitarian disarmament and enhance protections for civilians from various weapons that inflict unnecessary harm. Learn more about some of the weapons we research in this video explainer series. What are Cluster Munitions? Cluster munitions can be fired from the ground or dropped by aircraft. They typically open in the air, dispersing multiple submunitions over a wide area. Many submunitions fail to explode on initial impact, leaving duds that can injure and kill like landmines for years, until they are cleared and destroyed. |
The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions has been ratified by 112 countries and 12 more have signed, but not all countries have joined the ban. Who is Using Them? Of the nearly 1,000 people killed by cluster munitions in 2022, 890 of them were in Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly used the weapons since its invasion in February 2022, something its government continues to deny. Ukrainian forces have also used cluster munitions, causing civilian casualties. The Myanmar military and Syrian forces also used cluster munitions last year. None of these countries have signed the 2008 treaty. In 2022, there were at least 185 casualties around the world from previously unexploded cluster munition remnants. Children accounted for 71 percent of all casualties of cluster munition remnants where the age group was recorded. A Path Forward Since 2008, parties to the convention have collectively destroyed nearly 1.5 million cluster munitions and 178.5 million submunitions. Additionally, countries that are party to the convention collectively cleared more than 93 square kilometers of land contaminated by cluster munition remnants in 2022, destroying at least 75,779 submunitions and other remnants. Cluster munitions have become widely stigmatized. All governments should join the ban and protect civilians. Read More |
| In August 2023, two Lebanese officials introduced separate bills that would explicitly criminalize same-sex relations between consenting adults and punish anyone who “promotes homosexuality” with up to three years’ in prison. Read More |
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| The International Day to Protect Education from Attack serves as a stark reminder that schools are not always the safe refuges they should be, but instead are often the sites of violence and terror. Read More |
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| Egyptian authorities' use of criminal defamation laws to muzzle critics like Hisham Kassem is just one of the tools they use to ensure critical speech leads straight to prison. Read More |
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