CURRENT U.S. CLUSTER MUNITIONS POLICY

Current US policy on cluster munitions, issued by President Trump in 2017, allows the military to use all cluster munitions in existing stockpiles and enables acquisition of cluster munitions from foreign sources to replenish stocks. The 2017 policy loosened restrictions put in place by the 2008 Defense Department policy directive on cluster munitions. US law prohibits transfers of cluster munitions with a failure rate greater than 1 percent, but President Biden has waived that restriction five times since 2023 to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine despite bipartisan opposition.   

WHAT ARE CLUSTER MUNITIONS?

The Convention on Cluster Munitions defines a cluster munition as "a conventional munition that is designed to disperse or release explosive submunitions each weighing less than 20 kilograms, and includes those explosive submunitions." Explosive submunitions not held within a container, but released or dispersed by dispensers fixed to aircraft, are also explicitly banned.

Cluster munitions blanket a large area without specificity, making them inherently indiscriminate. According to the Cluster Munition Monitor, in 2022 civilians represented 95% of all cluster munition casualties, 71% of whom were children.

WHAT IS THE CONVENTION ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS?

Building on the framework established by the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions requires states party to:

• Not use, produce, transfer, or  stockpile cluster munitions, assist in any of these banned activities 
• Destroy all stockpiles of cluster munitions
• Identify and clear all areas contaminated by cluster munition remnants under their jurisdiction or control within 10 years
• Provide assistance to cluster munitions victims
• Encourage States not party to join the Convention, and discourage their use of cluster munitions

Today 124 states are signatories or states parties to the convention, including 23 NATO members. The United States neither participated in negotiations nor signed it.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR U.S. ANTI-PERSONNEL LANDMINE AND CLUSTER MUNITIONS POLICY?

The USCBL-USCMC urges the Biden Administration to:

• Cease all transfers of cluster munitions to any party.
• Lay out an accelerated timeline for the destruction of any stockpiled APLs and cluster munitions, and provide concrete plans and mechanisms for public reporting on progress.
• Ban the use of APLs without geographic exceptions, including the Korean Peninsula.
• Ban the use of cluster munitions and accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
• Regularly consult with civil society and victim advocates as the U.S. implements the 2022 APL policy and undertakes the necessary steps to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty.
• Continue to participate in regular Meetings of the States Party to the Mine Ban Treaty and commit to constructively participate in meetings of the States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

The USCBL-USCMC urges Congress to:

• Ban all transfers of cluster munitions.
• Increase support to Humanitarian Mine Action through robust appropriations.
• Appropriate funds for the accelerated destruction of U.S. stockpiles of APL and cluster munitions, and require the Department of Defense to provide a clear timeline and public reporting on stockpile destruction.
• Enact a statutory ban on development, production, acquisition, use, retention, stockpiling or transfer of APLs and cluster munitions, without geographic exception.

The United States Campaign to Ban Landmines-Cluster Munition Coalition (USCBL-CMC) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations working to ensure that the U.S. comprehensively prohibits anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions and joins the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. The USCBL-CMC also calls for sustained U.S. government financial support for mine and cluster munition remnants clearance and victim assistance. It is the national affiliate of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines- Cluster Munition Coalition (ICBL-CMC), recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate with former ICBL coordinator Jody Williams of Vermont.

Document Version of U.S. ANTI-PERSONNEL LANDMINE AND CLUSTER MUNITIONS POLICY (Last edited 2024)