This week, MAG joined governments and organisations in Geneva for the 13th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). The CCM is the international treaty that bans cluster munitions and helps communities recover from their deadly legacy.
Cluster munitions scatter many smaller bomblets over a wide area, and many of these fail to explode on impact. They are indiscriminate by nature, causing harm not only as unexploded remnants but also at the moment of use. Decades after conflicts end, they continue to kill and injure civilians, prevent families from returning home, stop children from playing safely, and make it nearly impossible for communities to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.
At this week’s conference, MAG shared our experience from working in affected countries and called for stronger action to protect people from this ongoing threat.
We stood in support of Lebanon and Mauritania, two countries still facing contamination. In Lebanon, where MAG has been working for 25 years, national authorities have built strong mine action programmes that saved lives during recent conflict. But we warned that progress is at risk without reliable international funding.
In Mauritania, we praised the government’s commitment to clearance and risk education but urged the international community to match that commitment with the resources needed to finish the job.
MAG also welcomed the decision to dedicate a separate agenda item to risk education, recognising it as evidence of the innovative nature of the Convention and its critical function in protecting people and communities during and after hostilities. Risk education is often the only activity operators can undertake during active conflict, providing vital protection when clearance teams cannot yet deploy.
Earlier this year, MAG published a study on how mine action, especially risk education, can protect people on the move and ensure their right to life and dignity (read here). We encouraged States Parties to consider risk education as a self-standing activity, critical to the protection of civilians.
We also reminded States Parties that multi-year and reliable funding is imperative if operators are to continue innovating, improving methodologies, and reducing risks to both people and the environment. Assistance must also be diversified to prevent over-dependence on a limited number of donors and to ensure that the know-how and expertise developed by national and local actors are not lost.
Finally, we underlined that while mine action operations remain essential, prevention is fundamental. The prohibition at the heart of the CCM is the surest way to prevent new areas from being contaminated and new lives from being harmed. In this spirit, we welcomed Vanuatu as the newest country to join the treaty, showing the continued strength of the global ban.
As the meeting concluded, MAG reiterated its commitment to supporting affected states with implementation and innovation, whether in risk education, clearance, or cooperation. We remain firmly behind our partners in Lebanon, Mauritania, and around the world, working together towards a future free from the dangers and effects of cluster munitions.
