US is planning to send controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine

Subject : International Relations

Concept :

Cluster Munition

Cluster munitions, also called cluster bombs, are canisters that carry tens to hundreds of smaller bomblets, also known as submunitions.
The canisters can be dropped from aircraft, launched from missiles, or fired from artillery, naval guns or rocket launchers.
The canisters break open at a prescribed height, depending upon the area of the intended target, and the bomblets inside spread out over that area. They are fused by a timer to explode closer to or on the ground, spreading shrapnel that is designed to kill troops or take out armored vehicles such as tanks.
Cluster munitions contain multiple explosives that are released over an area up to the size of several football fields. They can be dropped from a plane or launched from the ground or sea.

Definition under “Convention on Cluster Munitions”

Under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, cluster munitions are defined and prohibited as a category of weapons.
The definition of a cluster munition under Article 2 is “a conventional munition that is designed to disperse or release explosive submunitions each weighing less than 20 kilograms, and includes those explosive submunitions.”

Why are cluster munitions more controversial than other bombs?

As the bomblets fall over a wide area, they can endanger non-combatants.
In addition, somewhere between 10% to 40% of the munitions fail, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The unexploded munitions can then be detonated by civilian activity years or even decades later.
Cluster munitions remain one of the world’s most treacherous weapons.
They kill and maim indiscriminately and cause widespread human suffering.

Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM)

Much of the world has banned the use of these weapons through the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), which also prohibits the stockpiling, production and transfer of them.
Though 123 nations have joined that convention, the United States, Ukraine, Russia and 71 other countries have not.
Using the munitions to attack enemy troops or vehicles is not illegal under international law, but striking civilians with the weapons could amount to a war crime, according to Human Rights Watch.