In a massive development, the United States of America will provide cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of the $800 million aid package in Ukraine’s fight against Russia. The announcement was made by US NSA Jake Sullivan on Friday afternoon (local time). Cluster munitions are banned by over 100 countries across the world.
This comes following Ukraine’s request for the same a few weeks ago, according to Sullivan, even as human rights concerns loom over the issue. A cluster munition is a large weapon containing multiple explosive submunitions inside it thereby forming a cluster of weapons. It is the opposite of the high-precision weapons currently used by most countries, which allow attacking only the intended target minimising collateral damage. Instead of a specific target, cluster bombs attack a large area, and therefore there is a high probability of civilian damage.
“We recognise the cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance. This is why we’ve deferred the decision for as long as we could. But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians because Ukraine does not have enough artillery. That is intolerable to us,” Sullivan said.
Cluster munitions are banned by more than 100 countries including key US allies. The bomblets pose long-term harm to anyone who comes into contact with them.
US President Joe Biden defended his decision in an interview with US media, saying, “It was a very difficult decision on my part. And I discussed this with our allies, discussed this with our friends up on the hill. And we are in a situation where Ukraine continues to be brutally attacked across the board by munitions by these cluster munitions which have dud rates that are very very high.”
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed the package by USA, calling it “a timely, broad and much-needed defense aid package from the United States.”
A timely, broad and much-needed defense aid package from the United States. We are grateful to the American people and President Joseph Biden @POTUS for decisive steps that bring Ukraine closer to victory over the enemy, and democracy to victory over dictatorship. The expansion…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 7, 2023
In a tweet, he said that they are “grateful to the American people and President Joseph Biden for decisive steps that bring Ukraine closer to victory over the enemy, and democracy to victory over dictatorship.” He added, “the expansion of Ukraine’s defense capabilities will provide new tools for the de-occupation of our land and bringing peace closer.”
What are cluster munitions?
Cluster munitions or cluster bombs can be fired from the air and ground. They scatter over a large area around the size of a football field. Depending on the size of the weapon, from a dozen to 600 bomblets can be released at a time.
They are known to kill and injure large numbers of civilians owing to their wide coverage leading to indiscriminate killing, and a dud rate of bombs that fail to explode posing dangers for years even after the conflict ends. The US last used cluster munitions in Iraq in 2003.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions is an international treaty of more than 100 nations. It prohibits all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions. It was adopted on 30 May 2008 and signed on 3 December 2008 and entered into force on 1 August 2008. At present, it has 111 state parties and 11 signatories.
The United States, India, Pakistan, China and Russia are not signatories of the treaty. Even though a non-signatory, India acknowledges the humanitarian concerns associated with cluster munitions, but views them as legitimate weapons. There is no history of India using cluster bombs in any conflict.
Human Rights concerns
The White House said they do not believe the decision undermines their reputation as human rights defenders. “We don’t believe it undermines our reputation of being human right defenders. We have to remember what is happening in Ukraine…it is defending its freedom and we are making sure it is able to do that,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
The Biden administration’s decision has yet again raised serious questions on the United States which has often used human rights as an excuse to meddle in the internal affairs of many sovereign nations including India.
Former US President Barack Obama last month in an interview with the US media drew ire at home and abroad by virtue-signalling India about its “human rights record”. While the White House distanced itself from the statements, Indian Foreign Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that 6 Muslim countries were bombed under Obama’s Presidency.
Decision draws criticism
The United Nations cited the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) to oppose the Biden administration’s decision. Human rights groups too have reportedly “sharply criticised the President’s decision”. The US is not a party to the convention.
Earlier, Germany had opposed the same when initial reports on the US decision were doing rounds. German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said it opposes the decision as one of the 111 states party to the CCM.
