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Cluster Munition Monitor 2012
Exporters and recent transfers
While the historical record is incomplete and there are large variations in public information available, the US has
probably been the world leader in exports, having transferred hundreds of thousands of cluster munitions containing tens
of millions of submunitions to at least 30 countries. 104
Cluster munitions of Russian/Soviet origin are reported to be in the stockpiles of 33 states, including many that
inherited stocks after the dissolution of the USSR. 105 The full extent of China’s exports of cluster munitions is not known,
but unexploded submunitions of Chinese origin have been found in Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, and Sudan.
Non-signatories Brazil, Israel, South Korea, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine and the US are known to have exported cluster
munitions since 2000. States Parties Chile, France, Germany, Moldova, Spain, and the UK exported cluster munitions
prior to their adoption of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
In the reporting period, the Monitor reviewed the following new information on transfers:
• According to a May 2012 document provided to the Monitor by Chile, there were “no other applications or
new exports authorizations” for cluster munitions after the year 2001. 106 According to Ministry of Defense
information, Chile exported cluster munitions to five countries between 1991 and 2001. 107
• On 15 September 2011, the arms expo Defence & Security Equipment international (DSEi) in London closed
the Pakistan Ordnance Factory stand and Pakistan’s Defence Export Promotion Organisation pavilion after
promotional material was found at both locations listing cluster munitions available for sale, including the
155mm extended range (base bleed) DPICM projectiles containing 45 submunitions and the 155mm M483A1
cluster munition containing 88 submunitions, both manufactured by the Pakistan Ordnance Factory. 108 Pakistani
authorities reportedly stated that cluster munitions were not offered for sale by Pakistan at DSEi. 109
Similar concerns were raised during the 2009 DSEi arms fair, when Pakistan Ordnance Factory was found to
be advertising the 155mm extended range (base bleed) DPICM cluster munition. 110
Non-signatories Georgia, India, Pakistan, Slovakia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are among the
recipients of cluster munitions exports since 2005.
At least two states that have not joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the US and Singapore, have enacted an
export moratorium. Estonia is not known to have exported cluster munitions, but in May 2012, a Ministry of Defense
official informed the Monitor that Estonia is considering enacting a national moratorium on the transfer of cluster
munitions. 111
New transfer information arising from recent use
It is not known who supplied the cluster munitions that were allegedly used in Sudan and Syria in 2012 or when they
were transferred, but both states are known stockpilers of cluster munitions. Libya’s use of cluster munitions in April
2011 led to the revelation that Spain transferred 1,055 MAT-120 cluster munitions containing 22,155 submunitions to
Libya in 2006 and 2008, before Spain adopted the convention. 112 Thailand’s use of NR269 and M85 cluster munitions in
the February 2011 border conflict with Cambodia may indicate recent transfer, as these cluster munition types were not
previously known to be stockpiled by Thailand.
Sensor Fuzed Weapons
The US has announced several new sales of CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapons in the reporting period, following earlier
announcements of sales to India and Saudi Arabia. These weapons are prohibited under the Convention on Cluster
Munitions, but are not covered by the US export ban because they have a reported UXO rate of less than 1%. In the
104
Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Israel,
Italy, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, and
the UK, as well as Taiwan.
105
Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Republic of Congo, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, Georgia, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kuwait, Libya, Macedonia FYR, Moldova, Mongolia, Peru, Poland, Romania,
Slovakia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. In addition, Russian cluster munition remnants have been identified
in Sudan, although the government has denied having a stockpile.
106
Letter from the Brigadier General Roberto Ziegele Kerber, Director-General of National Mobilizaton, Ministry of Defense, 18 May 2012.
107
Brazil, Colombia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and the US. Cluster Munition Monitor notes on Chilean Air Force document signed by
Chair of the Joint Chief of Staff of the Air Force, “Exports of Cluster Bombs authorized in the years 1991-2001,” dated 23 June 2009, taken
during Monitor meeting with Juan Pablo Jara, Desk Officer, Ministry of Defense, Santiago, 11 April 2012. Translation by the Monitor.
108
The United Kingdom is a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions so the references to equipment were found to breach UK
Government Export Controls and DSEi’s contractual requirements.
109
Saba Imtiaz, “London exhibition controversy: Pakistan says no brochures listed cluster munitions,” The Express Tribune, 21 September 2011.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/256773/london-exhibition-controversy-pakistan-says-no-brochures-listed-cluster-munitions/.
110
“Evidence submitted by the UK Working Group on Arms (UKWG),” Strategic Export Controls (UK Parliament), November 2010. http://
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmquad/writev/arms/m5.htm.
111
Email from Kadi Silde, Adviser, International Co-operation Department, Ministry of Defense, 2 May 2012.
112
Five MAT-120 cluster munitions were transferred in October 2006 and another 1,050 in March 2008. Statement of Spain, Convention on
Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 29 June 2011.
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