This week (14-18 September), the mine action community is gathering in Vientiane, Laos, for the Third Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Adopted in 2008, the Convention is a landmark international agreement that prohibits the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions, and commits states to addressing their devastating impact on communities.
The Conference brings together states, international organisations, civil society and campaigners to take stock of progress, address ongoing challenges and strengthen efforts to end the suffering caused by these weapons.
Discussions will focus on priorities including the continued use of cluster munitions, clearance of contaminated land, assistance for survivors and affected communities, risk education, and the need for sustainable funding for mine action.
Cluster munitions can cause harm long after conflicts end. Bomblets that fail to explode on impact can remain scattered across land, posing a deadly threat to civilians and preventing communities from safely farming, travelling and rebuilding their lives.
MAG was responsible for 22% of all cluster munition-contaminated land cleared globally in 2025. But, with cluster munitions still being used and new contamination emerging in recent years, the need for action is urgent.
At the Third Review Conference, we’re calling on states to reaffirm their commitment to the Convention, strengthen efforts to prevent further use, and ensure the resources needed to clear cluster munition remnants and protect communities.
The Conference is a critical opportunity to renew the global commitment to ending the use of cluster munitions for good, and to making sure the legacy they leave behind does not continue to threaten future generations.
Learn more about cluster munitions and the threat they pose to families here – and follow us for updates from this week’s conference:
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Monday 14 September
Hear from MAG’s Director of Programmes, Greg Crowther, on the first day of the Conference (some footage courtesy of Vietnam Television (VTV)).
This week, we’re sharing lessons from our clearance operations in Cambodia, Laos, Lebanon and Vietnam, and meeting with States to strengthen their commitment to the Convention.
We’re calling for three things:
- Universalising the ban on cluster munitions
- Renewed commitment to tackling contamination
- Urgent funding for survey and clearance
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Eli Mechanic, MAG’s Country Director in Laos, has published an opinion piece in the Laotian Times on the lingering effects of cluster munitions on communities today.
In it, he argues that "a treaty can only provide meaningful protection if countries continue to join it and uphold its principles. The experience of Laos should make the case for universalisation impossible to ignore.
"Currently, 112 countries are States Parties to the Treaty. However, around the world, 17 countries still produce cluster munitions or retain the right to do so, and their well-documented use in recent conflicts shows that the international norm against these weapons is under pressure.
"The Third Review Conference should send a clear message that the ban must be universal and that the use of cluster munitions must end completely, while affected countries such as Laos need sustained international cooperation and assistance for survey, clearance, risk education and support to affected communities. We must reinforce the stigma against any use and emphasise their unacceptable humanitarian impacts."
Read the full op-ed here.
