News

On 22 February, Lithuania joined Wellington declaration that will ban the use of cluster munitions, which cause unjustifiable suffering to civilians. Eighty-two countries signed the declaration and thus confirmed the goal to ban these munitions. They also welcomed the initiative to hold a conference in Dublin on 19 May. This instrument of international law that will prohibit the use of the munitions should be adopted at the conference.

This instrument would be legally binding for all countries and would ban the use and proliferation of cluster bombs, which cause unjustifiable suffering to civilians.

Such a decision was approved of at a conference in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, when representatives from 103 countries discussed the principles and the main provisions of the future international treaty.

At the Wellington Conference, particular attention was dedicated to the issues of definition of cluster munitions, to the solution of problems, caused by unexploded cluster munitions, as well as to the participation in the joint missions and trainings together with countries that would not become parties to the convention.

Lithuania comprehensively seeks that the principles of the international humanitarian law would be consolidated in the practice of the international cooperation, and also in the area of limitation on warfare means and methods. Our country actively supports the initiatives of the international community to ban the use of cluster munitions, which cause unjustifiable suffering to civilians.

The Lithuanian armed forces do not keep cluster munitions in their arsenals and do not plan to obtain them. Currently, the issues of possible limitation on cluster munitions or their total prohibition are analysed by the Group of Governmental Experts of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and, beyond the UN, in the process of commitment to conclude a legally binding international instrument, which is also called the Oslo Process.