<strong>Cluster</strong> <strong>Munition</strong> <strong>Monitor</strong> 2012 50
© Mary Wareham/HRW, September 2011 Casualties <strong>and</strong> Victim Assistance The rationale behind the Convention on <strong>Cluster</strong> <strong>Munition</strong>s is found in its preamble, which affirms that States Parties are “[d]etermined to put an end for all time to the suffering <strong>and</strong> casualties caused by cluster munitions.” This l<strong>and</strong>mark humanitarian disarmament agreement is the first <strong>and</strong> so far the only international treaty to make the provision of assistance to victims of the weapons a formal requirement for all States Parties. Documentation of casualties from cluster munition strikes as well as from cluster munition remnants remains inadequate. 1 There are no comprehensive, reliable statistics <strong>and</strong> both civilian <strong>and</strong> military casualties are underreported. The <strong>Monitor</strong> has managed to identify a total of 17,194 cluster munition casualties in 30 countries through the end of 2011, yet a better indicator of the number of cluster munition casualties globally is the estimated total of between 20,000 <strong>and</strong> 54,000 casualties. However, the number of casualties that occurred during cluster munition strikes is known to be grossly underrepresented in both recorded casualties <strong>and</strong> estimates. Afghanistan, Iraq, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Cambodia, <strong>and</strong> Vietnam are considered to be the “worst affected” countries with significant numbers of cluster munition victims. 2 While all states are encouraged to provide victim assistance resources <strong>and</strong> support, the convention places ultimate responsibility for the provision of victim assistance on the countries with cluster munition victims because it is their duty to protect <strong>and</strong> care for their own people. Under Article 5 of the convention, States Parties have a legal obligation to ensure that the rights are met for members of their population whose lives have been impacted by cluster munitions. In order to make a difference in affected communities, there must be a clear underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the needs of victims <strong>and</strong> victim assistance responses must be coordinated, focused, <strong>and</strong> measurable. In the two years since the convention entered into force on 1 August 2010, States Parties have reported making more efforts than ever before to improve the lives of cluster munition victims, demonstrating that the convention is making a difference particularly in those countries most affected. While there has been progress on victim assistance during the reporting period, it remains generally uneven due to lack of funding to the NGOs which deliver most services, <strong>and</strong> due to inadequate infrastructure, conflict, <strong>and</strong> other challenges. <strong>Cluster</strong> <strong>Munition</strong> Casualties Global casualties Casualties from cluster munition remnants have been recorded by at least 30 states <strong>and</strong> three other areas where cluster munitions have been used, as listed in the following table. There have been unconfirmed casualties in several more states. 3 A football match between cluster bomb survivors, campaigners <strong>and</strong> diplomats during the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on <strong>Cluster</strong> <strong>Munition</strong>s in Beirut, Lebanon. 1 The term “cluster munition remnants” includes explosive bomblets <strong>and</strong> unexploded submunitions, which account for the vast majority of casualties. Unexploded submunitions are submunitions that have been dispersed <strong>and</strong> have l<strong>and</strong>ed, but failed to explode as intended, while “explosive bomblets” have been dropped from a fixed-wing aircraft dispenser, but have failed to explode as intended. 2 “Draft Beirut Progress Report,” CCM/MSP/2011/WP.5, 25 August 2011, pp. 10-11. http://www.clusterconvention.org/files/2011/05/Beirut- Progress-Report-ODS-upload4.pdf. 3 <strong>Cluster</strong> munition casualties have been reported in Angola, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Libya, Mozambique, <strong>and</strong> Yemen, but no definite data on numbers of casualties is currently available. It is possible that cluster munition casualties have gone unrecorded in other countries where cluster munitions were used, ab<strong>and</strong>oned, or stored in the past, such as Azerbaijan, Colombia, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, <strong>and</strong> Zambia, as well as the Falkl<strong>and</strong> Isl<strong>and</strong>s/Malvinas. 51
Change language