Red Cross regrets Lithuania's withdrawal from Convention on Cluster Munitions

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Thursday said it "deeply" regrets the withdrawal of Lithuania from the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which takes effect today.

"This decision weakens vital protections for civilians and risks exacerbating the threats posed by these weapons, which cause unacceptable harm," the ICRC said in a statement.

The Lithuanian parliament voted to leave the convention in July 2024, but had to wait six months after submitting exit documents for the decision to take effect.

Cluster munitions release explosive submunitions over wide areas, with many failing to detonate on impact, leaving behind hazardous unexploded ordnance that "poses serious risks to returning displaced families, disrupts access to essential services, and hampers efforts to rebuild infrastructure," the committee said.

"Cluster munitions have wide-area effects. Their use in urban areas raises particular humanitarian concerns. And long after their use, they continue to inflict suffering, especially on children, and prevent communities from rebuilding" Cordula Droege, the ICRC chief legal officer, said in the statement.

To end the suffering caused by these appalling weapons, 124 states have signed up to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and 123 remain bound by it today.

Adopted in 2008 and signed by 124 countries -- 123 after Lithuania's withdrawal -- the convention prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of cluster munitions.

"The ICRC deeply regrets that Lithuania has not heeded the call issued by states parties in September 2024, urging it to reconsider its decision," it said.

The humanitarian organization drew attention to the fact that nearly half of all casualties from cluster munition remnants in 2023 were children and stressed that clearing these munitions is a complex and dangerous process, often taking decades.

It cited Bosnia and Herzegovina as an example, which only recently declared itself free from cluster munitions nearly 30 years after the war came to an end.

"Withdrawal from any humanitarian treaty erodes life-saving humanitarian protections in war, and tears at the fabric of international humanitarian law," said Droege. "The ICRC urges all states to reinforce, not erode, the frameworks that protect civilians in conflict."