View source for Cluster munition

{{Short description|Explosive weapon with small submunitions}}
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{{redirect|Clusterbomb|the Green Day song, which is originally titled "Clusterbomb"|American Idiot}}
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[[File:Demonstration cluster bomb.jpg|thumb|US [[Honest John missile]] warhead cutaway around 1960, showing [[M134 bomblet|M134]] bomblets filled with [[Sarin]]]]
[[File:SA-2 site being blanketed by cluster bombs from F-105 Thud Wild Weasels.jpg|thumb|Half of a [[surface-to-air missile]] site in [[North Vietnam]] blanketed in exploding bomblets dispersed by a US cluster munition, [[Vietnam War]]]]
[[File:201206 포천승진 사격장 통합화력시범 훈련(15) (8019445723).jpg|thumb|A cluster bomb is dropped at the Nightmare Range in [[South Korea]]]]

A '''cluster munition''' is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched [[explosive weapon]] that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a '''cluster bomb''' that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicles. Other cluster munitions are designed to destroy [[runway]]s or [[electric power transmission]] lines.

Because cluster bombs release many small bomblets over a wide area, they pose risks to [[civilians]] both during attacks and afterwards. [[Unexploded ordnance|Unexploded bomblets]] can kill or maim civilians and unintended targets long after a conflict has ended, and are costly to locate and remove. This failure rate ranges from 2 percent to over 40 percent.

Cluster munitions are prohibited for those nations that ratified the [[Convention on Cluster Munitions]], adopted in [[Dublin]], Ireland, in May 2008. The Convention entered into force and became binding [[international law]] upon ratifying states on 1 August 2010, six months after being ratified by 30 states.<ref name=Article17>{{cite web|url=http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/treatystatus/|title=Treaty status – The Treaty – CMC|website=stopclustermunitions.org|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref> As of 10 February 2022, a total of 123 states have joined the Convention, as 110 states parties and 13 signatories.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 February 2022 |title=Convention on Cluster Munition Website |url=https://www.clusterconvention.org/ |url-status=live |access-date=1 March 2022 |website=The Convention on Cluster Munition |publication-place=Geneva (Switzerland) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612122749/http://www.clusterconvention.org/? |archive-date=12 June 2008 }}</ref>

==Development==
[[File:Sd2 opened.jpg|thumb|upright|SD2 [[Butterfly Bomb]] circa 1940. Wings rotate as bomb falls, unscrewing the arming spindle connected to the [[fuze]].]]

The first significantly operationally used<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/45184/Guide-to-Cluster-Munitions-Nov2007.pdf|title=A Guide to Cluster Munitions|publisher=GICHD|date=November 2007|isbn=978-2-940369-07-2|location=Geneva|pages=28}}</ref> cluster bomb was the [[Nazi Germany|German]] SD-2 or ''Sprengbombe Dickwandig 2&nbsp;kg'', commonly referred to as the [[Butterfly Bomb]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2013/jun/21/butterfly-bombs-luftwaffe-cleethorpes-grimsby|title=Remembering the terror the Luftwaffe's butterfly bombs brought to the North|last=Rogers|first=James I.|date=21 June 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=9 February 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Cluster munitions were used in [[World War II]] to attack both civilian and military targets,<ref>{{cite news |last=Winkler |first=John J. |date=6 August 1944 |title=Grinding Out Grief for the Enemy |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn88063294/1944-08-06/ed-1/?sp=66&q=cluster+bombs&r=-0.004,0.452,0.987,0.568,0 |work=Detroit Evening Times |location=Detroit, Michigan |access-date=29 April 2024 |quote=Jacob Baker of Cleveland, Ohio with his "cluster bomb"--A big projectile which rains smaller shells when it explodes |page=18 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=McGowan|first=Sam|url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/wreaking-havoc/|title=Wreaking Havoc|website=Warfare History Network|date=June 2021|access-date=29 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202022014/https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/wreaking-havoc/|archive-date=2 December 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> including [[Bombing of Tokyo|on Tokyo]] and [[Kyushu]].<ref>{{cite news |date=10 July 1945 |title=Air War |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn96077289/1945-07-10/ed-1/?sp=6&q=%22cluster+bombs%22&r=-0.02,0.455,0.921,0.53,0 |work=The Daily Monitor Leader |location=Mount Clemens, Michigan |access-date=29 April 2024 |quote=Mitchell mediums in the same attack [on Kyushu] carried fragmentation cluster bombs followed by incendiaries from the liberators |page=6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=22 March 1945 |title=Detroit-Built |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn88063294/1945-03-22/ed-1/?sp=20&q=%22cluster+bombs%22&r=0.036,0.395,0.525,0.302,0 |work=Detroit Evening Times |location=Detroit, Michigan |access-date=29 April 2024 |quote=The now famous cluster gasoline bombs which sputtered down on Tokio carried a goodly big of Detroit workmanship in them, it is now revealed. |page=20 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=8 April 1945 |title=M-69... the Fire Bomb that Falls on Japan |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1945-04-08/ed-1/?sp=20&q=%22cluster+bombs%22&r=0.22,0.519,0.819,0.472,0 |work=Evening Star |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=29 April 2024 |quote=Today, at great B-29 bases, big 500-pound "clusters" of these bombs are loaded onto U.S. planes bound for Japan's industrial centers...each big "cluster bomb" holds up to 60 of the M-69 incendiaries. |page=A-20 }}</ref> The technology was developed independently by the United States, Russia and Italy (see [[Thermos bomb]]).{{Cn|date=October 2023}} The US used the {{convert|20|lb|kg|order=flip|adj=on|0}} M41 fragmentation bomb wired together in clusters of 6 or 25 with highly sensitive or proximity [[fuze]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McLaughlin |first1=Constance |last2=Thomson |first2=Harry C. |last3=Roots |first3=Peter C. |date=1990 |title=The Technical Services--The Ordinance Department: Planning Munitions for War |url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-9/CMH_Pub_10-9.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927115505/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-9/CMH_Pub_10-9.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 September 2012 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Center of Military History |page=453-454, 459, 462 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Budge|first=Kent G.|url=https://pwencycl.kgbudge.com/B/o/Bombs.htm|title=Bombs|website=The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia|access-date=29 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409014342/http://pwencycl.kgbudge.com/B/o/Bombs.htm|archive-date=9 April 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>

From the 1970s to the 1990s cluster bombs became standard air-dropped munitions for many nations, in a wide variety of types. They have been produced by 34 countries and used in at least 23.<ref name="autogenerated1">[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/07/europe/cluster.php Austria bans cluster munitions], ''International Herald Tribune'', 7 December 2007</ref>

[[Artillery]] shells that employ similar principles have existed for decades. They are typically referred to as '''[[Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition|ICM]]''' ('''Improved Conventional Munitions''') shells. The US military slang terms for them are "firecracker" or "popcorn" shells, for the many small explosions they cause in the target area.

==Types==
[[File:BLU-3 Pineapple Cluster bomblet.jpg|upright|thumb|A US Vietnam era BLU-3 cluster bomblet]]

A basic cluster bomb consists of a hollow shell and then two to more than 2,000 submunitions or bomblets contained within it. Some types are dispensers that are designed to be retained by the aircraft after releasing their munitions. The submunitions themselves may be fitted with small [[parachute]] retarders or [[Model rocket#Parachute/Streamer|streamer]]s to slow their descent (allowing the aircraft to escape the blast area in low-altitude attacks).<ref>{{Cite web|title=How Cluster Bombs Work|url=https://www.hi-us.org/how_cluster_bombs_work|access-date=3 February 2021|website=HI|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

Modern cluster bombs and submunition dispensers can be multiple-purpose weapons containing a combination of anti-armor, anti-personnel, and anti-materiel munitions. The submunitions themselves may also be multi-purpose, such as combining a [[shaped charge]], to attack armour, with a fragmenting case, to attack infantry, material, and light vehicles. They may also have an incendiary function.

Since the 1990s submunition-based weapons have been designed that deploy [[Smart bomb|smart]] submunitions, using thermal and visual sensors to locate and attack particular targets, usually armored vehicles. Weapons of this type include the US [[CBU-97]] [[sensor-fuzed weapon]], first used in combat during [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]], the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Some munitions specifically intended for anti-tank use can be set to self-destruct if they reach the ground without locating a target, theoretically reducing the risk of unintended civilian deaths and injuries. Although smart submunition weapons are much more expensive than standard cluster bombs, fewer smart submunitions are required to defeat dispersed and mobile targets, partly offsetting their cost. Because they are designed to prevent indiscriminate area effects and unexploded ordnance risks, some smart munitions are excluded from coverage by the Convention on Cluster Munitions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Twelve Facts and Fallacies about the Convention on Cluster Munitions |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2009/04/14/twelve-facts-and-fallacies-about-convention-cluster-munitions |publisher=Human Rights Watch |access-date=29 April 2021 |date=14 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=30 May 2008|title=Convention on Cluster Munitions|url=https://www.clusterconvention.org/files/2011/01/Convention-ENG.pdf#page=2|access-date=3 February 2021|website=clusterconvention.org|page=2, Art. 2 Nr. 2|archive-date=27 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127005635/http://clusterconvention.org/files/2011/01/Convention-ENG.pdf#page=2|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Incendiary===
[[File:Molotov bread basket.jpg|thumb|upright|During the [[Winter War]] of 1939–1940, the [[Soviet Union]] dropped RRAB-3, nicknamed [[Molotov bread basket]]s, which scattered incendiary bomblets, on Finland.]]

Incendiary cluster bombs are intended to start fires, just like conventional [[incendiary bomb]]s (firebombs). They contain submunitions of [[white phosphorus]] or [[napalm]], and can be combined anti-personnel and anti-tank submunitions to hamper firefighting efforts.<ref name=":0" /> In urban areas they have been preceded by the use of conventional explosive bombs to fracture the roofs and walls of buildings to expose their flammable contents. One of the earliest examples is the so-called [[Molotov bread basket]] used by the Soviet Union in the [[Winter War]] of 1939–40. Incendiary clusters were extensively used by both sides in the [[Strategic bombing during World War II|strategic bombings of World War II]]. They caused [[firestorm]]s and [[conflagration]]s in the [[bombing of Dresden in World War II]] and the [[firebombing of Tokyo]]. Some modern bomb submunitions deliver a highly combustible [[thermobaric]] aerosol that results in a high pressure explosion when ignited.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}}

===Anti-personnel===
Anti-personnel cluster bombs use explosive [[fragmentation (weaponry)|fragmentation]] to kill troops and destroy soft (unarmored) targets. Along with incendiary cluster bombs, these were among the first types of [[List of weapons of military aircraft of Germany during World War II#Cluster bombs|cluster bombs]] produced by Nazi Germany during World War II. They were used during [[the Blitz]] with delay and booby-trap fusing to hamper firefighting and other damage-control efforts in the target areas. They were also used with a contact fuze when attacking entrenchments. These weapons were widely used during the [[Vietnam War]] when many thousands of tons of submunitions were dropped on Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.<ref>[http://www.paxchristi.nl/catalogus/uploaded_file.aspx?id=98 Cluster Weapons; Convenience or necessity?] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004114519/http://www.paxchristi.nl/catalogus/uploaded_file.aspx?id=98 |date=4 October 2006 }}</ref>

===Anti-tank===
Most anti-armor munitions contain shaped charge [[warhead]]s to pierce the armor of [[tank]]s and [[armored fighting vehicle]]s. In some cases, guidance is used to increase the likelihood of successfully hitting a vehicle. Modern guided submunitions, such as those found in the US CBU-97, can use either a shaped charge or an [[explosively formed penetrator]]. Unguided shaped-charge submunitions are designed to be effective against entrenchments that incorporate overhead cover. To simplify supply and increase battlefield effectiveness by allowing a single type of round to be used against nearly any target, submunitions that incorporate both fragmentation and shaped-charge effects are produced.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anti Tank submunitions shaped-charge effects are produced - Cluster Bomb {{!}} Development History {{!}} - YTread |url=https://youtuberead.com/cluster-bomb-development-history |access-date=5 April 2023 |website=youtuberead.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Anti-electrical===
An anti-electrical weapon, the [[Graphite bomb|CBU-94/B]], was first used by the US in the [[Kosovo War]] in 1999. These consist of a TMD (Tactical Munitions Dispenser) filled with 202 submunitions. Each submunition contains a small explosive charge that disperses 147 reels of fine conductive fiber of either carbon or aluminum-coated glass. Their purpose is to disrupt and damage [[electric power transmission]] systems by producing [[short circuit]]s in high-voltage power lines and [[electrical substation]]s. On the initial attack, these knocked out 70% of the electrical power supply in [[Serbia]].

==History of use==

=== Vietnam War ===
{{Seealso|Vietnam War#Weapons}}
During the Vietnam War, the US used cluster bombs in air strikes against targets in Vietnam, [[Laos]], and [[Cambodia]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://thediplomat.com/2010/12/07/vietnams-cluster-bomb-shadow/?all=true | work=GlobalPost | location=Tokyo | title=Vietnam's Cluster Bomb Shadow | first=Irwin | last=Loy | date=7 December 2010 | access-date=29 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2 October 1963 |title=Aims at Red Guerrillas |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83025327/1963-10-02/ed-1/?sp=2&q=%22cluster+bombs%22&r=0.293,0.15,0.882,0.508,0 |work=The Daily News of the Virgin Islands |location=Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands |access-date=29 April 2024 |quote=Airman 1/c John V. Stryker of Elizabeth, N.J. loads fragmentation cluster bombs under the wing of a T-28 plane in Soc Trang, South Vietnam |page=2 }}</ref>

Of the 260 million cluster bomblets that rained down on Laos between 1964 and 1973, particularly on [[Xieng Khouang province]], 80 million failed to explode.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/dec/03/laos-cluster-bombs-uxo-deaths | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Forty years on, Laos reaps bitter harvest of the secret war | first=Ian | last=MacKinnon | date=3 December 2008 | access-date=29 July 2012}}</ref> As of 2009 about 7,000 people have been injured or killed by explosives left from the Vietnam War era in Vietnam's [[Quảng Trị province]] alone.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/vietnam/100602/cluster-bombs-landmines-demining-quang-tri?page=full | work=GlobalPost | location=Boston, MA | title=In Vietnam, cluster bombs still plague countryside | first=Daysha | last=Eaton | date=6 June 2010 | access-date=29 July 2012}}</ref>

===South Lebanon conflict, 1978===
During the [[1978 South Lebanon conflict|South Lebanon conflict]] in 1978, the [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]] used cluster bombs provided by the United States. According to US President [[Jimmy Carter]], this use of the cluster bombs violated the legal agreement between Israel and the US because the weapons had been provided for defensive purposes against an attack on Israel.<ref name=carter>{{cite book|title=The blood of Abraham: insights into the Middle East|url=https://archive.org/details/bloodofabrahamin00cart|url-access=registration|year=1993|publisher=University of Arkansas Press|isbn=978-1-55728-862-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bloodofabrahamin00cart/page/92 92–93]|author=Jimmy Carter|author-link=Jimmy Carter}}</ref> Israel also transferred American weapons to Saad Haddad's Lebanese militia, a violation of American law.<ref name=carter/> Carter's administration prepared to notify [[United States Congress|Congress]] that American weapons were being used illegally, which would have resulted in military aid to Israel being cut off.<ref name=carter/> The American consul in Jerusalem informed the Israeli government of their plans and, according to Carter, Prime Minister Begin said that the operation was over.<ref name=carter/>

=== Western Sahara war, 1975–1991 ===
During the 16-year-long conflict on the territory of [[Western Sahara]], the [[Royal Moroccan Army]] (RMA) dropped cluster bombs.<ref name="cluster-2023">{{cite news |title=Timeline: Use of controversial cluster bombs in past conflicts |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/10/timeline-use-of-controversial-cluster-bombs-in-past-conflicts |work=Al Jazeera |date=10 July 2023}}</ref>

The RMA used both artillery-fired and air-dropped cluster munitions. BLU-63, M42 and MK118 submunitions were used at multiple locations in Bir Lahlou, Tifarity, Mehaires, Mijek and Awganit.

More than 300 cluster strike areas have been recorded in the MINURSO Mine Action Coordination Center database.

=== Soviet–Afghan War, 1979–1989 ===
During the Soviet-Afghan War, the Soviets dealt harshly with Mujaheddin rebels and those who supported them, including leveling entire villages to deny safe havens to their enemy and the usage of cluster bombs.<ref>As reported by Human Rights Watch, Afghanistan: The Forgotten War: Human Rights Abuses and Violations of the Laws of War Since the Soviet Withdrawal, 1 February 1991</ref>{{Page needed|date=December 2021}}

===Falklands War===
[[Sea Harrier]]s of the [[Royal Navy]] dropped [[BL755]] cluster bombs on Argentinian positions during the [[Falklands War]] of 1982.<ref>{{cite web |title=United Kingdom |url=http://archives.the-monitor.org/index.php/cp/display/region_profiles/theme/2282 |website=Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor |access-date=26 May 2021}}</ref>

===Grenada, 1983===
The United States dropped 21 Rockeye cluster bombs during its [[United States invasion of Grenada|invasion of Grenada]].<ref name="hrw-report-2010"/>

=== Nagorno Karabakh War, 1992–1994, 2016, 2020 ===
The armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in [[Nagorno Karabakh]] in 1992–1994 led to the use of cluster munitions against military and civilian targets in the region.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Safikhanov |first1=Hafiz |title=Cluster Munitions Monitoring and Information Campaign in Azerbaijan |journal=Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction |date=March 2008 |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=1–2 |url=https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1562&context=cisr-journal |access-date=4 October 2020}}</ref> As of 2010, {{Convert|93|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} remain off-limits due to contamination with unexploded cluster ordnance. [[HALO Trust]] has made major contributions to the cleanup effort.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.halotrust.org/media/news/british_embassy_yerevan_holds_event_for_halo.aspx|title=The HALO Trust – A charity specialising in the removal of the debris of war :: British Embassy, Yerevan, holds event for HALO<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121226060347/http://www.halotrust.org/media/news/british_embassy_yerevan_holds_event_for_halo.aspx|archive-date=26 December 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/custom/index.php/region_profiles/print_profile/126|website=Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor|access-date=15 May 2018|url-status=dead|title=Nagorno-Karabakh|archive-date=16 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616123514/http://www.the-monitor.org/custom/index.php/region_profiles/print_profile/126}}</ref>

During [[2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes|renewed hostilities in April 2016]], HALO Trust reported the use of cluster bombs by Azerbaijan, having found cluster munitions in the villages of [[Nerkin Horatagh]] and [[Kiçik Qarabəy]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.halotrust.org/media-centre/news/halo-begins-emergency-clearance-in-karabakh/|title=HALO begins emergency clearance in Nagorno Karabakh|website=Mine Free NK|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-date=10 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610100210/https://www.halotrust.org/media-centre/news/halo-begins-emergency-clearance-in-karabakh/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Azerbaijan reported that the Armenian forces had used cluster munition against Azerbaijani civilians in the given period.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://report.az/en/foreign-politics/azerbaijani-mfa-armenian-use-of-beehives-serves-only-to-commit-mass-destruction-among-civilians/|title=Azerbaijani MFA: Armenian use of cluster munition serves only committing mass destruction among civilians|website=REPORT.AZ|date=21 June 2020 |access-date=4 October 2020}}</ref>

According to the [[Cluster Munition Coalition|Cluster Munition Monitor]] report in 2010, neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan not acceded to become a member of the [[Convention on Cluster Munitions]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Cluster Munition Monitor 2010 |url=http://www.the-monitor.org/media/1641847/CMM_2010_pdf.pdf |publisher=Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor |access-date=4 October 2020 |pages=193–194 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008060055/http://www.the-monitor.org/media/1641847/CMM_2010_pdf.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Further use of cluster munition was reported during the [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war]].<ref>{{cite news |first1=Peter |last1=Beaumont |first2=Michael |last2=Safi |title=Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: both sides accused of using cluster bombs |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/08/nagorno-karabakh-conflict-both-sides-accused-of-using-cluster-bombs |work=The Guardian |date=8 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/azerbaijan-says-armenian-forces-shell-second-city-of-ganja-644446|title=Azerbaijan says Armenian forces shell second city of Ganja|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post &#124; Jpost.com |agency=Reuters |access-date=4 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://azertag.az/en/xeber/1603533|title=Hikmat Hajiyev: Dropping banned bombs on populated areas once again shows that Armenia is a terrorist state |date=4 October 2020 |website=AZERTAC |access-date=4 October 2020}}</ref> The Armenian-populated city of [[Stepanakert]] came under [[2020 bombardment of Stepanakert|bombardment]] throughout the war, beginning on the first day. Human Rights Watch reported that residential neighborhoods in Stepanakert which lacked any identifiable military targets were hit by the [[Azerbaijani Land Forces|Azerbaijani Army]] with cluster munitions. Human Rights Watch also identified Azerbaijani usage of cluster munitions in [[Hadrut]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=23 October 2020|title=Azerbaijan: Cluster Munitions Used in Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/23/azerbaijan-cluster-munitions-used-nagorno-karabakh|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> Human Rights Watch also reported the use of cluster munitions by the Armenian forces during the months-long [[bombardment of Tartar]], [[2020 Barda missile attacks|missile attacks on Barda]] and on [[Goranboy District|Goranboy]].<ref name="hrwtartar">{{Cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/12/11/armenia-unlawful-rocket-missile-strikes-azerbaijan |title=Armenia: Unlawful Rocket, Missile Strikes on Azerbaijan |date=11 December 2020 |work=[[Human Rights Watch]] |access-date=11 December 2020 }}</ref> [[Amnesty International]] also confirmed that the Armenian forces had used cluster munitions in Barda,<ref name="amnestybarda">{{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/10/armenia-azerbaijan-first-confirmed-use-of-cluster-munitions-by-armenia-cruel-and-reckless/ |title=Armenia/Azerbaijan: First confirmed use of cluster munitions by Armenia 'cruel and reckless' |date=29 October 2020 |access-date=29 October 2020 |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |language=en }}</ref> which resulted in the deaths of 25 Azerbaijani civilians, according to Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=28 October 2020|title=Azerbaijan says Armenia used cluster bombs in deadly Barda attack|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/28/azerbaijan-says-21-dead-in-armenia-attack-near-nagorno-karabakh|website=aljazeera.com|publisher=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]|quote=Wednesday's strike marked the deadliest reported attack on civilians in a month of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh.}}</ref>

=== First Chechen War, 1995 ===
* Used by Russia, see also [[1995 Shali cluster bomb attack]]

=== Yugoslavia, 1999 ===
{{See also|Niš cluster bombing}}
* Used by the US, the UK and Netherlands.
About 2,000 cluster bombs containing 380,000 sub-munitions were dropped on Yugoslavia during the [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]], in 1999, of which the [[Royal Air Force]] dropped 531 RBL755 cluster bombs.<ref name="Brady">{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/nato-comes-clean-on-cluster-bombs-402552.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091227115228/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/nato-comes-clean-on-cluster-bombs-402552.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=27 December 2009 | work=The Independent | title=Nato comes clean on cluster bombs | date=16 September 2007 | access-date=16 April 2011 | location=London | first=Brian | last=Brady}}</ref><ref>[http://www.srpskadijaspora.info/vest.asp?id=9395 SRBIJI NE PRETE SAMO KASETNE BOMBE] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722172123/http://www.srpskadijaspora.info/vest.asp?id=9395 |date=22 July 2011 }}, (in Serbian only)</ref> Both the Americans and the British utilised cluster bombs.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Kosovo Conflict and International Law An Analytical Documentation 1974-1999 |date=2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=328}}</ref>

On 7 May 1999, between the time of 11:30 and 11:40, a NATO attack was carried out with two containers of cluster bombs and fell in the central part [[Niš]]:
* The Pathology building next to the Medical Center of Nis in the south of the city,
* Next to the building of "Banovina" including the main market, bus station next to the Niš Fortress and "12th February" Health Centre
* Parking of "Niš Express" near river Nišava River.

Reports claimed that 15 civilians were killed, 8 civilians were seriously injured, 11 civilians had sustained minor injuries, 120 housing units were damaged and 47 were destroyed and that 15 cars were damaged.

Overall during the operation, at least 23 Serb civilians were killed by cluster munitions. At least six Serbs, including three children were killed by bomblets after the operation ended, and up to {{convert|23|sqkm}} in six areas remain "cluster contaminated", according to Serbian government, including on Mt. Kopaonik near the slopes of the ski resort. The UK contributed £86,000 to the Serbian Mine Action Centre.<ref name="Brady"/>

=== Afghanistan, 2001–2002 ===
* The United States used cluster munitions during the initial stages of [[Operation Enduring Freedom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/nov2011/clus-n18.shtml|title=Obama moves to legalize cluster munitions|first=Scott|last=Martin|date=18 November 2011 |access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hWTuA1zguTk3NyD2yvRkAVD_b7bw?docId=5e05f2bc09784773b7d7d8aeec561823|archive-url=https://archive.today/20111116235705/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hWTuA1zguTk3NyD2yvRkAVD_b7bw?docId=5e05f2bc09784773b7d7d8aeec561823|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 November 2011|title=Cluster bombs remain in 69 nations|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref>

=== Iraq, 1991, 2003–2006 ===
{{Seealso|United States war crimes#Iraq War|British war crimes#War on Terror}}
[[File:Defense.gov News Photo 971111-N-6939M-303.jpg|right|thumb|A US Navy [[F/A-18C Hornet]] launches from ''[[USS Nimitz]]'' to a mission in Southern Iraq. Among other weapons, the plane carries [[CBU-100 Cluster Bomb|CBU-100 "Rockeye"]] cluster bombs.]]
* Used by the United States and the United Kingdom

'''1991''': During the [[Gulf War]], the United States, France, and the United Kingdom dropped 61,000 cluster bombs, containing 20&nbsp;million submunitions, according to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2009/12/09/iraq-cluster-treaty-approval-should-inspire-neighbors-join|title=Iraq: Cluster Treaty Approval Should Inspire Neighbors to Join|date=9 December 2009|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref> The US accounted for 57,000 of these droppings. The [[United States Department of Defense|US Department of Defense]] estimated that 1.2 to 1.5 million submunitions did not explode. According to human rights organizations, unexploded submunitions have caused over 4,000 civilian casualties, including 1,600 deaths, in Iraq and Kuwait.<ref>{{cite book |title=Persian Gulf War Encyclopedia A Political, Social, and Military History |date=2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=97}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=U.S. Conflicts in the 21st Century: Afghanistan War, Iraq War, and the War on Terror |date=2015 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=176}}</ref>

'''2003–2006''': United States and allies attacked Iraq with 13,000 cluster munitions, containing two million submunitions during Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to the [[HRW]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/es/news/2003/12/11/estados-unidos-cientos-de-muertes-de-civiles-en-irak-pudieron-prevenirse|title=Estados Unidos – Cientos de muertes de civiles en Irak pudieron prevenirse|date=11 December 2003|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref> The majority were DPICMs, or [[Dual-purpose improved conventional munition]]s.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=I've Seen Cluster Bombs Maim Children. Why Is Biden Sending Them to Ukraine? |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/biden-ukraine-russia-cluster-bombs-human-rights-1234785326/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=10 July 2023}}</ref> At multiple times, coalition forces used cluster munitions in residential areas, and the country remains among the most contaminated to this day, bomblets posing a threat to both US military personnel in the area, and local civilians.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-12-10-cluster-bomb-cover_x.htm | work=USA Today | first1=Paul | last1=Wiseman | title=Cluster bombs kill in Iraq, even after shooting ends | date=16 December 2003}}</ref>

When these weapons were fired on [[Baghdad]] on 7 April 2003 many of the bomblets failed to explode on impact. Afterward, some of them exploded when touched by civilians. ''[[USA Today]]'' reported that "the Pentagon presented a misleading picture during the war of the extent to which cluster weapons were being used and of the civilian casualties they were causing." On 26 April, General [[Richard Myers]], chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the US had caused only one civilian casualty.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-12-10-cluster-bomb-cover_x.htm | work=USA Today | first1=Paul | last1=Wiseman | title=Cluster bombs kill in Iraq, even after shooting ends | date=16 December 2003}}</ref>

=== Lebanon, 1978, 1982 and 2006 ===
{{Seealso|Allegations of war crimes in the 2006 Lebanon War}}
[[File:Lebanese girl injured by cluster bomblet.jpg|thumb|right|Lebanese girl wounded by a cluster bomblet in 2006]] 
* Extensively used by Israel during the [[1978 South Lebanon conflict|1978 Israeli invasion]] of Lebanon, the [[South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)|1982–2000 occupation of Lebanon]] and also by [[Hezbollah]] in the [[2006 Lebanon War]].

During the Israeli-Lebanese [[1982 Lebanon War|conflict in 1982]], Israel used cluster munitions, many of them American-made, on targets in southern Lebanon. Israel also used 4.6 million cluster bombs in the [[2006 Lebanon War]].<ref name="mcc.org">[http://mcc.org/clusterbombs/news/lebanon/thenandnow.html MCC | Cluster Bombs<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061121035747/http://mcc.org/clusterbombs/news/lebanon/thenandnow.html |date=21 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/28/world/use-of-cluster-bombs-is-confirmed-by-israel.html | work=The New York Times | title=Use of Cluster Bombs Is Confirmed by Israel | date=28 June 1982 | access-date=27 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/Reagan_News1982.html|title=President Reagan News Conferences & Interviews on the Middle East/Israel (1982)|website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Khayyat |first=Munira |title=A Landscape of War. Ecologies of Resistance and Survival in South Lebanon |publisher=University of California Press |year=2022}}</ref>

Two types of cluster munitions were transferred to Israel from the US The first was the CBU-58 which uses the BLU-63 bomblet. This cluster bomb is no longer in production. The second was the MK-20 Rockeye, produced by Honeywell Incorporated in Minneapolis.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} The CBU-58 was used by Israel in Lebanon in both 1978 and 1982.<ref name="mcc.org"/> The Israeli Defense company [[Israel Military Industries]] also manufactures the more up-to-date M-85 cluster bomb.

[[Hezbollah]] fired Chinese-manufactured cluster munitions against Israeli civilian targets, using 122&nbsp;mm rocket launchers during the 2006 war, hitting [[Kiryat Motzkin]], [[Nahariya]], [[Karmiel]], [[Maghar, Israel|Maghar]], and [[Safsufa]]. A total of 113 rockets and 4,407 submunitions were fired into Israel during the war.<ref name="hrw.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/10/18/lebanonisrael-hezbollah-hit-israel-cluster-munitions-during-conflict|title=Lebanon/Israel: Hezbollah Hit Israel with Cluster Munitions During Conflict|date=18 October 2006|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3443979,00.html|title=State snubbed war victim, family says|access-date=13 July 2008|date=30 August 2007|work=[[Ynet]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602073716/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0%2C7340%2CL-3443979%2C00.html|archive-date=2 June 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to the [[United Nations Mine Action Service]], Israel dropped up to four million submunitions on Lebanese soil, of which one million remain unexploded.<ref name="cfr-2011-11-14">{{cite web|url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/campaign-ban-cluster-bombs |title=The Campaign to Ban Cluster Bombs|last=Beehner|first=Lionel|date=21 November 2006|website=cfr.org|publisher=[[Council on Foreign Relations]]|access-date=17 February 2020}}</ref> According to a report prepared by Lionel Beehner for the Council on Foreign Relations, the United States restocked Israel's arsenal of cluster bombs, triggering a State Department investigation to determine whether Israel had violated secret agreements it had signed with the United States on their use.<ref name="cfr-2011-11-14" />

As Haaretz reported in November 2006, the Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff [[Dan Halutz]] wanted to launch an investigation into the use of cluster bombs during the Lebanon war.<ref name="haaretz-2006-11-20">{{cite news |last1=Hasson |first1=Nir |last2=Rapoport |first2=Meron |date=20 November 2006 |title=Halutz Orders Probe Into Use of Cluster Bombs in Lebanon |url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.4933286 |work=Haaretz |location=Tel Aviv |access-date=17 February 2020}}</ref> Halutz claimed that some cluster bombs had been fired against his direct order, which stated that cluster bombs should be used with extreme caution and not be fired into populated areas. The IDF apparently disobeyed this order.<ref name="haaretz-2006-11-20" />

[[Human Rights Watch]] said there was evidence that Israel had used cluster bombs very close to civilian areas and described them as "unacceptably inaccurate and unreliable weapons when used around civilians" and that "they should never be used in populated areas".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/24/isrlpa13798.htm|title=Israeli Cluster Munitions Hit Civilians in Lebanon|date=24 July 2006|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch|HRW]]|access-date=4 December 2016|archive-date=13 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081113070829/http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/24/isrlpa13798.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of using cluster munitions in an attack on Bilda, a Lebanese village, on 19 July<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/07/1e054faa-dbad-4810-b5f4-4052663eec42.html | title = Middle East: Rice Calls For A 'New Middle East' | date=25 July 2006 | publisher=[[Radio Free Europe]]}}</ref> which killed 1 civilian and injured 12, including 7 children. The Israeli "army defended ... the use of cluster munitions in its offensive with [[Lebanon]], saying that using such munitions was 'legal under [[international law]]' and the army employed them 'in accordance with international standards{{'"}}.<ref>"EXTRA: Israel defends use of cluster munitions". ''[[Deutsche Presse-Agentur]]''. 25 July 2006. LexisNexis Academic.</ref> Foreign Ministry Spokesman [[Mark Regev]] added, "[I]f [[NATO]] countries stock these weapons and have used them in recent conflicts – in [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|FR Yugoslavia]], [[Afghanistan]] and [[Iraq]] – the world has no reason to point a finger at Israel."<ref name="Friedman">Friedman, Ina. "Deadly Remnants". ''[[The Jerusalem Report]]''. 13 November 2006: 20–22</ref>

=== Georgia, 2008 ===
* [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and Russia both were accused of using cluster munitions during the [[Russo-Georgian War|2008 Russo-Georgian War]]. Georgia admitted use; Russia denied it.

Georgia admitted using cluster bombs during the war, according to Human Rights Watch but stressed they were only used against military targets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=19363|title=Civil.Ge -|first=Civil|last=Georgia|website=www.civil.ge|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref> The [[Georgian army]] used [[LAR-160]] [[multiple rocket launcher]]s to fire MK4 LAR 160 type rockets (with M-85 bomblets) with a range of 45 kilometers the Georgian Minister of Defense (MoD) said.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=19365|title=Civil.Ge – MoD Says it Used Cluster Bombs, but not in Populated Areas|first=Civil|last=Georgia|website=www.civil.ge|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref>

Human Rights Watch accused the [[Russian Air Force]] of using RBK-250 cluster bombs during the conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/08/14/georgi19625.htm|title=Georgia: Russian Cluster Bombs Kill Civilians (Human Rights Watch, 14-8-2008)|website=www.hrw.org|date=15 August 2008|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-date=19 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719201550/https://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/08/14/georgi19625.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> A high-ranking Russian military official denied use of cluster bombs.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/europeCrisis/idUSLF640501 Russia "used cluster bombs" in Georgia – rights group], [[Reuters]], 15 August 2008</ref> The Dutch government, after investigating the death of a Dutch citizen, claimed that a cluster munition was propelled by an [[9K720 Iskander]] [[tactical missile]] (used by Russia at the time of conflict, and not used by Georgia).<ref>[http://www.minbuza.nl/dsresource?objectid=buzabeheer:32226&type=pdf Dutch government report on Storimans death concludes cluster bomb propelled by Russian SS-26 (pdf)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609054810/http://www.minbuza.nl/dsresource?objectid=buzabeheer%3A32226&type=pdf |date=9 June 2010 }}</ref>

=== Sri Lanka, 2008/2009 ===
In 2009, the [[United States Department of State|US Department of State]] prepared a report on incidents in Sri Lanka between January and May 2009 that could constitute violations of international humanitarian law or crimes against humanity. This report documented the use of cluster munitions by Sri Lanka’s government forces. Photos and eyewitness accounts described the use of such weapons in several attacks on civilian areas, including an incident on 7 March 2009, in [[Valayanmadam]], where two cluster bombs exploded, causing significant civilian casualties and injuries. The reports suggest that cluster munitions were used in areas declared as safe zones for civilians.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/131025.pdf | title=Report to Congress on Incidents During the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka }}</ref> 

According to Gordon Weiss, who was the spokesperson for the UN in [[Colombo]], the "largest remaining functioning hospital" in the [[Vanni (Sri Lanka)|Vanni]] region of Sri Lanka was bombed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 November 2009 |title=In Sri Lanka, Aid Agencies Say Hospital Hit by Shells |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2009-02-02-voa12-68796692/411781.html |access-date=1 July 2024 |website=Voice of America |language=en}}</ref> The Sri Lankan military has been accused of bombing the hospital with cluster munitions, but cluster bombs were not used in the bombing of the hospital.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 February 2009 |title=Sri Lanka: Cluster bomb strike on hospital is despicable |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2009/02/sri-lanka-cluster-bomb-strike-hospital-despicable-20090204/ |access-date=1 July 2024 |website=Amnesty International |language=en}}</ref> The government has denied using cluster munitions, but in 2012 unexploded cluster bombs were found, according to Allan Poston, who was the technical advisor for the [[UN Development Program]]’s mine action group in Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 April 2012 |title=Cluster bombs found in Sri Lanka, UN expert says |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-17861187 |access-date=1 July 2024 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> An article published by The Guardian in 2016 provided photographic evidence and testimonies from former de-miners and civilians pointing to the use of Russian-made cluster bombs in areas that the government had declared as "no-fire zones."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stoakes |first=Emanuel |date=20 June 2016 |title=Cluster bombs used in Sri Lanka's civil war, leaked photos suggest |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/20/cluster-bombs-used-sri-lanka-civil-war-leaked-photos-suggest |access-date=1 July 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

=== Libya, 2011 ===
It was reported in April 2011 that [[Colonel Gaddafi]]'s forces had used cluster bombs in the conflict between government forces and rebel forces trying to overthrow Gaddafi's government, during the [[battle of Misrata (2011)|battle of Misrata]]<ref>Taylor, Jerome [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/these-indiscriminate-killers-leave-their-deadly-legacy-from-libya-to-lebanon-2338175.html These indiscriminate killers leave their deadly legacy from Libya to Lebanon] The Independent, 16 August 2011, Retrieved 17 August 2011</ref> These reports were denied by the government, and the Secretary of State of the US,<ref>{{cite news | newspaper = New York Times| title = Qaddafi Troops Fire Cluster Bombs into Civilian Areas | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/16/world/africa/16libya.html?_r=1&hp | access-date = 15 April 2011 | first=C. J. | last=Chivers | date=15 April 2011}}</ref> Hillary Clinton said she was "not aware" of the specific use of cluster or other indiscriminate weapons in Misurata even though a ''New York Times'' investigation refuted those claims.<ref>Chivers, C.J. [http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/following-up-part-iii-down-the-rabbit-hole-qaddafis-cluster-munitions-and-the-age-of-internet-claims "Down the Rabbit Hole: Qaddafi's Cluster Munitions and the Age of Internet Claims"]. ''The New York Times'', 23 June 2011. Retrieved: 13 July 2011.</ref>

===Syria, 2012===
During the [[Syrian civil war|Syrian uprising]], a few videos of cluster bombs first appeared in 2011, but escalated in frequency near the end of 2012.<ref name=hrw2012>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/10/13/syria-new-evidence-military-dropped-cluster-bombs |title=Syria: New Evidence Military Dropped Cluster Bombs |date=13 October 2012 |access-date=13 October 2012 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |archive-date=14 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014002437/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/10/13/syria-new-evidence-military-dropped-cluster-bombs |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=brownmosesoct13/> As Human Rights Watch reported on 13 October 2012, "[[Eliot Higgins]], who blogs on military hardware and tactics used in Syria under the pseudonym 'Brown Moses', compiled a list of the videos showing cluster munition remnants in Syria's various governorates."<ref name=hrw2012/><ref name=brownmosesoct13>{{cite web |url=http://brown-moses.blogspot.se/2012/10/cluster-bomb-usage-rises-significantly.html |title=Cluster Bomb Usage Rises Significantly Across Syria |work=Brown Moses Blog |date=13 October 2012 |access-date=13 October 2012}}</ref> The type of bombs have been reported to be [[RBK-250]] cluster bombs with AO-1 SCH bomblets (of Soviet design).<ref name=brownmosesoct13/> Designed by the Soviet Union for use on tank and troop formations, PTAB-2.5M bomblets were used on civilian targets in [[Mare']] in December 2012 by the Syrian government.<ref name=NYT122012>{{cite news|title=Syria Unleashes Cluster Bombs on Town, Punishing Civilians|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/world/middleeast/syria-uses-cluster-bombs-to-attack-as-many-civilians-as-possible.html|access-date=21 December 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|author=C. J. Chivers|date=20 December 2012}}</ref> According to the seventh annual Cluster Munition Report, there is ″compelling evidence″ that Russia has used cluster munitions during their involvement in Syria.<ref>{{cite news|title=Report Finds Ban Hasn't Halted Use of Cluster Bombs in Syria or Yemen|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/02/world/middleeast/cluster-bombs-syria-yemen.html|access-date=12 June 2019|newspaper=The New York Times|author=Sewell Chan|date=1 September 2016}}</ref>

=== South Sudan, 2013 ===
Cluster bombs remnants were discovered by a UN de-mining team in February 2014 on a section of road near the Jonglei state capital, Bor. The strategic town was the scene of heavy fighting, changing hands several times during the [[South Sudanese Civil War]], which erupted in the capital Juba on 15 December 2013 before spreading to other parts of the country. According to UNMAS, the site was contaminated with the remnants of up to eight cluster bombs and an unknown quantity of bomblets.<ref>[http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article50027 "Ugandan army won't take part in cluster bomb investigation: spokesperson"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520042138/http://sudantribune.com/spip.php?article50027 |date=20 May 2014 }}, Sudan Tribune, 19 February 2014</ref>

=== Ukraine, 2014 ===
Human Rights Watch reported that "Ukrainian government forces used cluster munitions in populated areas in [[Donetsk]] city in early October 2014." Also "circumstances indicate that anti-government forces might also have been responsible for the use of cluster munitions".<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 October 2014 |title=Ukraine: Widespread Use of Cluster Munitions |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/10/20/ukraine-widespread-use-cluster-munitions |access-date=6 May 2023 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}</ref>

===Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, 2015–2022===
{{See also|Human rights violations during the Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)}}
British-supplied<ref>"[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/19/saudi-arabia-admits-use-uk-made-cluster-bombs-yemen Saudi Arabia admits it used UK-made cluster bombs in Yemen]". ''The Guardian.'' 19 December 2016.</ref> and US-supplied cluster bombs<ref>"[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32572408 Yemen: Saudi Arabia used cluster bombs, rights groups says]". BBC News. 3 May 2015.</ref> have been used by [[Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen|Saudi Arabian-led military coalition]] against Houthi militias in [[Yemen]], according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32572408|title=Saudis 'used cluster bombs' in Yemen|work=BBC News|date=3 May 2015|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/03/world/middleeast/saudi-led-group-said-to-use-cluster-bombs-in-yemen.html|title=Saudi-Led Group Said to Use Cluster Bombs in Yemen|newspaper=The New York Times|date=3 May 2015|access-date=15 May 2018|last1=Fahim|first1=Kareem}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/12/saudi-arabia-uses-terrorism-as-an-excuse-for-human-rights-abuses.html |title=Saudi Arabia uses terrorism as an excuse for human rights abuses |work=Al Jazeera America |date=3 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Yemen: Cluster Munitions Wound Children |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/03/17/yemen-cluster-munitions-wound-children |work=Human Rights Watch |date=17 March 2017}}</ref>

Saudi Arabia is{{When|date=October 2023}} not signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/en-gb/take-action.aspx|title=Cluster Munition Coalition – Take Action – CMC|website=www.stopclustermunitions.org|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref>

===Ethiopia, 2021===
''[[The New York Times]]'' journalist Christiaan Triebert revealed that the [[Ethiopian Air Force]] bombings of [[February 2021 Saharti-Samre massacres|Samre]] during the [[Tigray War]] are evidenced by multiple photos of the tails of Soviet-era [[cluster bombs]], likely RBK-250.<ref>Nyssen, J., 2021: [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349669904_Cluster_bombing_on_Tigray_by_the_Ethiopian_army_-_more_than_500_homesteads_destroyed_in_Gijet. Cluster bombing on Tigray by the Ethiopian army - more than 500 homesteads destroyed in Gijet.]</ref>

Ethiopia is not signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/en-gb/take-action.aspx|title=Cluster Munition Coalition – Take Action – CMC|website=www.stopclustermunitions.org|access-date=20 October 2021}}</ref>

===Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2022===
{{see also|Use of cluster munitions in the Russian invasion of Ukraine|War crimes in the Russian invasion of Ukraine|Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine}}
[[File:Iskander-M ballistic missile with cluster warhead wreckage 02.jpg|thumb|Iskander-M ballistic missile with cluster warhead wreckage that was shot down over [[Kramatorsk]] by the Ukrainian air defenses.]]
Human Rights Watch reported the use of cluster munitions by the [[Russian Armed Forces]] during their [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|invasion of Ukraine]]. HRMMU reported 16 credible allegations that Russian armed forces used cluster munitions in
populated areas, resulting in civilian casualties and other damage.<ref name="HRMMU_Report_March"/>

On 24 February 2022, a Russian 9M79-series [[OTR-21 Tochka|Tochka]] ballistic missile with a 9N123 cluster munition warhead containing 50 [[9N24]] fragmentation submunitions impacted outside a hospital in [[Vuhledar]] in [[Donetsk Oblast]], Ukraine. The attack killed four civilians and wounded ten.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/02/25/ukraine-russian-cluster-munition-hits-hospital|title=Ukraine: Russian Cluster Munition Hits Hospital|work=Human Rights Watch|date=25 February 2022|access-date=27 February 2022}}</ref> Further use of cluster munitions, such as the [[BM-27 Uragan|Uragan]] 9M27K and [[BM-30 Smerch]] 9M55K cluster rockets, is being investigated by [[Bellingcat]] through a public appeal for evidence on [[Twitter]].<ref>{{cite tweet|user=bellingcat|number=1497523559647920130|date=26 February 2022|access-date=27 February 2022|title=We are seeking images of Uragan 9M27K and Smerch 9M55K cluster rocket and their submunitions from the current fighting in Ukraine, as well as videos of suspected cluster munition attacks.}}</ref> According to HRW and Amnesty International, Russian troops used cluster munition during an attack on the city of [[Okhtyrka]] on the morning of 25 February 2022.<ref name="HRMMU_Report_March"/> A 220&nbsp;mm Uragan rocket dropped cluster munitions on a kindergarten in the town. As a result of that, people were killed, including a child.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/02/ukraine-cluster-munitions-kill-child-and-two-other-civilians-taking-shelter-at-a-preschool/|title=Ukraine: Cluster munitions kill child and two other civilians taking shelter at a preschool|work=Amnesty International|date=27 February 2022|access-date=28 February 2022}}</ref> The same day, non-precision guided missiles bearing cluster munitions were deployed against Kharkiv, killing at least nine civilians and injuring 37.<ref name="HRMMU_Report_March"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/60591017 |title=Anatomy of an attack: Is Russia using cluster bombs in Ukraine? |first1=Josh |last1=Cheetham |first2=Kayleen |last2=Devlin |first3=Jack |last3=Goodman |first4=Maria |last4=Korenyuk |work=[[BBC News]] |date=3 March 2022}}</ref>

The United Nations [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|High Commissioner for Human Rights]] announced on 30 March 2022 that they had credible reports indicating that Russian armed forces had used cluster munitions in populated areas of Ukraine at least 24 times since the start of the conflict on 24 February.<ref>[https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1115092 "Ukraine war: Russia used cluster weapons at least 24 times, says UN's Bachelet," UN News]</ref><ref name="HRMMU_Report_March">{{cite report |url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/HRMMU_Update_2022-03-26_EN.pdf |title=HRMMU Update on the human rights situation in Ukraine, 24 February – 26 March 2022 |date=28 March 2022 |publisher=[[UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine]]}}</ref>

In early March 2022, [[The New York Times]] reported the first use of a cluster munition by Ukrainian troops during [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|the invasion]] near Husarivka farm. It landed close to the Russian army's headquarters. According to the report, nobody died in that strike.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news |last1=Gibbons-Neff |first1=Thomas |last2=Ismay |first2=John |date=18 April 2022 |title=To Push Back Russians, Ukrainians Hit a Village With Cluster Munitions |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/18/world/europe/ukraine-forces-cluster-munitions.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=19 January 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |archive-date=22 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422054032/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/18/world/europe/ukraine-forces-cluster-munitions.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:P20220314CS-0175 (52027842782).jpg|thumb|On 28 February 2022, White House press secretary [[Jen Psaki]] called Russia's use of cluster munitions a potential "war crime".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nichols |first1=John |title=Cluster Bombs Are "War-Crime" Weapons |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/cluster-bombs-ukraine-biden-congress/ |work=The Nation |date=10 July 2023}}</ref>]]
On 14 March 2022, [[March 2022 Donetsk attack|an attack with a Tochka-U missile]] equipped with cluster sub-munitions was reported in the city of [[Donetsk]]. HRMMU confirmed at least 15 civilian deaths, and 36 injured in this incident, and at the time of its report was working to corroborate other alleged casualties and whether they were caused by cluster sub-munitions.<ref name="HRMMU_Report_March"/>

On 7 December 2022, it was revealed that Ukraine was seeking access to US stockpiles of cluster munitions, due to a shortage of ammunition for HIMARS type and 155&nbsp;mm artillery systems. The US has stockpiled its cluster munitions and had been considering the Ukrainian request. Ukraine claimed it would give them an edge over Russian artillery, as well as preventing depletion of other US and Western stocks.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/07/politics/ukraine-cluster-munitions-us-war-russia/index.html |title= Exclusive: Biden administration weighs Ukrainian requests for access to US stockpile of controversial cluster munitions |author= Natasha Bertrand, Alex Marquardt and Zachary Cohen |publisher=[[CNN]]|date=7 December 2022 |access-date=8 December 2022}}</ref>

On 6 July 2023, US president [[Joe Biden]] approved the provision of [[Dual-purpose improved conventional munition|DPICM]] cluster munitions to Ukraine to help Ukrainian forces with the ongoing [[2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive|counteroffensive]] to liberate Russian-[[Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts|occupied]] southeastern Ukraine, bypassing US law prohibiting the transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate greater than one percent.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/06/biden-cluster-bombs-ukraine/ |title=Biden approves cluster munition supply to Ukraine |date=6 July 2023 |last1=DeYoung |first1=Karen |last2=Horton |first2=Alex |last3=Ryan |first3=Missy |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=6 July 2023}}</ref> The weapon system could be used in both [[HIMARS]] and [[155&nbsp;mm]] shell projectiles. Defense Department official [[Laura Cooper]] said that the munitions "would be useful, especially against dug-in Russian positions on the battlefield."<ref>{{cite news |title=U.S. actively considering giving cluster munitions to Ukraine |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/29/cluster-munitions-for-ukraine-under-active-consideration-by-u-s-00104346 |work=Politico |date=29 June 2023}}</ref> According to the Pentagon, Ukraine will receive an "improved" version of cluster munitions with a failure rate of about 2 percent, while the Russian cluster bombs fail at 40 percent or more.<ref name =nyt202307>{{Cite news |last1=Sanger |first1=David E. |last2=Schmitt |first2=Eric |date=6 July 2023 |title=Biden Weighs Giving Ukraine Weapons Banned by Many U.S. Allies |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/06/us/politics/biden-ukraine-cluster-bombs.html |access-date=7 July 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> However, according to a report prepared for Congress, experts in cleanup operations "have frequently reported failure rates of 10% to 30%."<ref>{{cite news |title=The US says the cluster bombs it's giving Ukraine fail less than 3% of the time. Experience suggests the real number is far higher. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/cluster-bombs-us-ukraine-fail-30-percent-of-the-time-2023-7 |work=Business Insider |date=8 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Cluster Weapons U.S. Is Sending Ukraine Often Fail to Detonate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/07/us/cluster-weapons-duds-ukraine.html |work=The New York Times |date=7 July 2023}}</ref> The failure rate of cluster munitions used by Ukraine is reportedly as high as 20 percent.<ref>{{cite news |title=Controversy surrounds US decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4085887-ukraine-russia-us-cluster-munitions-controversy/ |work=The Hill |date=7 July 2023}}</ref> Paul Hannon, of the [[Cluster Munition Coalition]] (CMC), said the Biden administration's decision will "contribute to the terrible casualties being suffered by Ukrainian civilians both immediately and for years to come".<ref name="cluster-2023"/>

On 10 July, Cambodian Prime Minister [[Hun Sen]] warned Ukraine of using cluster munitions on Twitter writing: "It would be the greatest danger for Ukrainians for many years or up to a hundred years if cluster bombs are used in Russian-occupied areas in the territory of Ukraine," Sen further cited his country's "painful experience" from the [[Vietnam War]] that has killed or maimed tens of thousands of Cambodians.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ukraine should shun US cluster bombs, learn from Cambodia's 'painful experience': PM Hun Sen|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3227129/ukraine-should-shun-us-cluster-bombs-learn-cambodias-painful-experience-pm-hun-sen|work=South China Morning Post |date=10 July 2023}}</ref>

On the same day, the [[Royal United Services Institute]] (RUSI) released a study citing the use of cluster munitions from the Vietnam War. [[United States Army]] studies from that war showed that it takes approximately 13.6 high explosive shells for each enemy soldier killed. A shell firing [[DPICM]]s relied on average only 1.7 shells to kill an enemy soldier. RUSI used an example of a trench, a direct hit by a high explosive round will spread shrapnel "within line of sight of the point of detonation". This also reduces the wear and tear on the barrels of 155&nbsp;mm artillery weapons systems.<ref>{{cite news |title=Giving Ukraine Cluster Munitions is Necessary, Legal and Morally Justified|url=https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/giving-ukraine-cluster-munitions-necessary-legal-and-morally-justified#:~:text=Cluster%20munitions%20would%20be%20valuable,mass%20emplacement%20of%20unmarked%20minefields. |publisher=Royal United Services Institute| author1= Dr Jack Watling |author2=Professor Justin Bronk  |date=10 July 2023}}</ref>

On 16 July 2023, Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] claimed that Russia had "sufficient stockpiles" of its own cluster munitions and threatened to take "reciprocal action" if Ukraine used US-supplied cluster munitions against Russian forces in Ukraine.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ukraine war: Vladimir Putin threatens cluster bomb retaliation if weapons used against Russian forces |url=https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-vladimir-putin-threatens-cluster-bomb-retaliation-if-weapons-used-against-russian-forces-12921775 |work=Sky News |date=16 July 2023}}</ref>

On 20 July 2023, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported that Ukrainian forces had begun to use US-supplied cluster munitions against Russian forces in the south-east of the country, according to Ukrainian officials.<ref>{{cite news| last1 = Hudson| first1 = John| last2 = Khurshudyan| first2 = Isabelle| title = Ukraine begins firing U.S.-provided cluster munitions at Russian forces| newspaper = [[Washington Post]]| date = 20 July 2023| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/20/cluster-munitions-ukraine-war-russia/| access-date = 21 July 2023}}</ref>

=== Iran–Israel war ===

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Amnesty international and Israel have accused Iran of using cluster munitions when it fired multiple ballistic missiles at Israel from June 20 to June 23, 2025.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Landay |first=Jonathan |date=19 June 2025 |title=Israel says Iran fired cluster bomb-bearing missile |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/israel-says-iran-fired-cluster-bomb-bearing-missile-2025-06-19/ |access-date=19 June 2025 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Amnesty accuses Iran of firing cluster munitions at Israel | date=23 July 2025 | url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250723-amnesty-accuses-iran-of-firing-cluster-munitions-at-israel }}</ref>

==Threat to civilians==
[[File:Spomenik NATO zrtvama 1.jpg|thumb|180px|Monument to victims of the [[Niš cluster bombing]]]]
While all weapons are dangerous, cluster bombs pose a particular threat to civilians for two reasons: they have a wide area of effect, and they consistently leave behind a large number of unexploded bomblets. The unexploded bomblets can remain dangerous for decades after the end of a conflict. For example, while the United States cluster bombing of Laos stopped in 1973, cluster bombs and other unexploded munitions continued to cause over 100 casualties per year to Laotian civilians {{as of|2009|lc=yes}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://legaciesofwar.org/resources/cluster-bomb-fact-sheet|title=Cluster Bomb Fact Sheet|website=Legacies of War|language=en-US|access-date=5 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223132500/http://legaciesofwar.org/legacies-library/cluster-bomb-fact-sheet/|archive-date=23 February 2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Lance |first=Rachel |author-link=Rachel Lance |date= |title=The Enduring Danger of Cluster Bombs |url=https://www.wired.com/story/russia-ukraine-cluster-bombs/ |access-date=2 April 2022 |magazine=Wired |issn=1059-1028}}</ref>

Cluster munitions are opposed by many individuals and hundreds of groups, such as the [[Red Cross]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/ihl-weapon-news-061106?opendocument|title=International Committee of the Red Cross|date=3 October 2013|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref> the Cluster Munition Coalition and the [[United Nations]], because of the high number of civilians that have fallen victim to the weapon. Since February 2005, [[Handicap International]] called for cluster munitions to be prohibited and collected hundreds of thousands of signatures to support its call.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clusterbombs.org/|title=clusterbombs.org|website=www.clusterbombs.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724163113/http://www.clusterbombs.org/|archive-date=24 July 2013|access-date=4 March 2022|url-status=usurped}}</ref> 98% of 13,306 recorded cluster munitions casualties that are{{When|date=October 2023}} registered with Handicap International are civilians, while 27% are children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.handicapinternational.be/index.php?action=article&numero=467&PHPSESSID=f60cf971ac6dee500a0ad9b84daf52dd/|title=konsoleH :: Login|website=en.handicapinternational.be|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011201445/http://en.handicapinternational.be/index.php?action=article&numero=467&PHPSESSID=f60cf971ac6dee500a0ad9b84daf52dd%2F|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The area affected by a single cluster munition, known as its footprint, can be very large; a single unguided M26 [[M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System|MLRS]] rocket can effectively cover an area of {{Convert|0.23|km2|acre|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m26.htm|title=M26 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref> In US and most allied services, the M26 has been replaced by the M30 guided missile fired from the MLRS. The M30 has greater range and accuracy but a smaller area of coverage.{{Cn|date=October 2023}}

Because of the weapon's broad area of effect, they have often been documented as striking both civilian and military objects in the target area. This characteristic of the weapon is particularly problematic for civilians when cluster munitions are used in or near populated areas, as documented in a research report by [[Human Rights Watch]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2003/usa1203/usa1203.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20060624201843/http://hrw.org/reports/2003/usa1203/usa1203.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 June 2006 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |title=Off Target: The Conduct of the War and Civilian Casualties in Iraq |date=December 2003 |access-date=22 June 2009}}</ref> In some cases, like the [[Zagreb rocket attack]], civilians were deliberately targeted by such weapons.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2007/pr1162e-summary.htm |publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia |title=Summary of Judgement for Milan Martic |date=June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215084458/http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2007/pr1162e-summary.htm |archive-date=15 December 2007}}</ref>

===Unexploded ordnance===
[[File:BLU-26 cluster sub-munition.JPG|thumb|Unexploded cluster sub-munition, probably a BLU-26 type. [[Plain of Jars]], Laos.]]

The other serious problem, also common to [[explosive weapon]]s is [[unexploded ordnance]] (UXO) of cluster bomblets left behind after a strike. These bomblets may be [[dud]]s or in some cases the weapons are designed to detonate at a later stage. In both cases, the surviving bomblets are live and can explode when handled, making them a serious threat to civilians and military personnel entering the area. In effect, the UXOs can function like land mines.

Even though cluster bombs are designed to explode prior to or on impact, there are always some individual submunitions that do not explode on impact. As of 2000, the US-made MLRS with [[M-26 artillery rocket|M26]] warhead and M77 submunitions which were supposed to have a 5% failure rate, but studies have shown that some have a much higher rate.<ref>1 Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, "Unexploded Ordnance Report," table 2-3, p. 5. No date, but transmitted to the U.S. Congress on 29 February 2000</ref> The rate in acceptance tests prior to the [[Gulf War]] for this type ranged from 2% to  23% for rockets cooled to {{convert|-25|°F|°C|abbr=on}} before testing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archive.gao.gov/t2pbat5/149647.pdf |publisher=US General Accounting Office |title=Operation Desert Storm: Casualties Caused by Improper Handling of Unexploded U.S. Submunitions |date=August 1993 |access-date=1 September 2006}}</ref> The [[M483A1]] [[DPICM]] artillery-delivered cluster bombs have a reported failure rate of 14%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/arms/cluster031803.htm|title=Cluster Munitions a Foreseeable Hazard in Iraq|work=Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper|access-date=13 July 2011}}</ref> In July 2023, the failure rate of Russian cluster bombs during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] was reported to be at 40 percent or more.<ref name=nyt202307/>

Given that each cluster bomb can contain hundreds of bomblets and be fired in volleys, even a small failure rate can lead each strike to leave behind hundreds or thousands of UXOs scattered across the strike area. For example, after the [[2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict]], UN experts estimated that as many as one million unexploded bomblets may contaminate the hundreds of cluster munition strike sites in Lebanon.<ref>{{cite news|title='Million bomblets' in S Lebanon|publisher=BBC|date=26 September 2006|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5382192.stm|access-date=26 September 2006}}</ref>
[[File:M77 Cluster Munition With Hand.jpg|thumb|M77 submunition of type fired against Lebanon in 1986. Each MLRS rocket has 644 M77 packed in the warhead.]]
In addition, some cluster bomblets, such as the [[BLU-97/B]] used in the [[CBU-87]], are brightly colored to increase their visibility and warn off civilians. However, the yellow color, coupled with their small and nonthreatening appearance, is attractive to young children who wrongly believe them to be toys. This problem was exacerbated in the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]], when US forces dropped humanitarian rations from airplanes with similar yellow-colored packaging as the BLU-97/B, yellow being the NATO standard colour for high explosive filler in air weapons. The rations packaging was later changed first to blue and then to clear in the hope of avoiding such hazardous confusion.{{Cn|date=October 2023}}

As of 1993, the US military was developing new cluster bombs that it claimed could have a much lower (less than 1%) failure rate.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/descriptivesum/Y2005/Army/0603778A.pdf |publisher=Defense Technical Information Center |title=Army RDT&E Budget Item Justification, Item No. 177, MLRS Product Improvement Program|date=February 1993|access-date=1 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070628035510/http://www.dtic.mil/descriptivesum/Y2005/Army/0603778A.pdf|archive-date=28 June 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Sensor-fused weapons containing a limited number of submunitions that are capable of autonomously engaging armored targets may provide a viable if costly alternative to cluster munitions that will allow multiple target engagement with one shell or bomb while avoiding the civilian deaths and injuries consistently documented from the use of cluster munitions.{{Cn|date=October 2023}}

In the 1980s the Spanish firm [[Esperanza y Cia]] developed a 120&nbsp;mm caliber mortar bomb that contained 21 anti-armor submunitions. What made the 120&nbsp;mm "Espin" unique was the electrical impact fusing system which eliminated dangerous duds. The system relied on a capacitor in each submunition that was charged by a wind generator in the nose of the projectile after being fired. If the electrical fuse fails to function on impact, approximately 5 minutes later the capacitor bleeds out, therefore neutralizing the submunition's electronic fuse system.<ref>Jane's Ammunition Handbook 1994 page 362</ref>

====Civilian deaths====
* In Vietnam, people are{{When|date=October 2023}} still being killed as a result of cluster bombs and other objects left by the US and Vietnamese military forces. Hundreds of people are{{When|date=October 2023}} killed or injured annually by unexploded ordnance.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060418041034/http://clearpathinternational.org/cpiblog/archives/cat_vietnam.php Clear Path International: Assisting Landmine Survivors, their Families and their Communities]</ref>
* Some 270 million cluster submunitions were dropped on Laos in the 1960s and 1970s; approximately one third of these submunitions failed to explode and continue to pose a threat today{{When|date=October 2023}}.<ref>[http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/laos-photos-080508 Laos: the enduring threat from cluster munitions] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822043420/http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/laos-photos-080508 |date=22 August 2010 }}</ref>
* Within the first year after the end of the [[Kosovo War]], more than 100 civilians died from unexploded bombs and mines. During the war, [[NATO]] planes dropped nearly 1,400 cluster bombs in Kosovo. Cluster bombs make up to 40% of mines and unexploded bombs in Kosovo.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/761092.stm | work=BBC News | title=Kosovo mine expert criticises Nato | date=23 May 2000 | access-date=30 April 2010}}</ref>
* Israel used cluster bombs in Lebanon in 1978 and in the 1980s. Those weapons used more than two decades ago by Israel continue to affect Lebanon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/24/isrlpa13798.htm|title=Israeli Cluster Munitions Hit Civilians in Lebanon (Human Rights Watch, 24-7-2006)|website=www.hrw.org|date=24 July 2006|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-date=13 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081113070829/http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/24/isrlpa13798.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the 2006 war in Lebanon, Israel fired large numbers of cluster bombs in Lebanon, containing an estimated more than 4 million cluster submunitions. In the first month following the ceasefire, unexploded cluster munitions killed or injured an average of 3–4 people per day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.landmineaction.org/resources/Foreseeable%20Harm.pdf|title=UKWGLM_18377.pdf<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411125949/http://www.landmineaction.org/resources/Foreseeable%20Harm.pdf|archive-date=11 April 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Locations====
[[File:Stop cluster bombs march.jpg|thumb| [[Ban Advocates]] from [[Afghanistan]] and [[Ethiopia]] demonstrating outside of the Dublin conference]]

Countries and [[Territorial dispute|disputed territories]] (listed in italic) that have been affected by cluster munitions as of November 2024 include:<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2024-11-04 |title=Overview of Article 4 (clearance) Deadlines |url=https://www.clusterconvention.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Overview-of-Article-4-deadlines.pdf |access-date=2025-06-29 |website=Convention on Cluster Munitions}}</ref>

{{Div col|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Afghanistan]]
* [[Angola]]
* [[Azerbaijan]] (mainly ''[[Nagorno Karabakh]]'')
* [[Cambodia]]
* [[Chad]]
* [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
* ''[[Donetsk People's Republic]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/10/20/ukraine-widespread-use-cluster-munitions |title=Ukraine: Widespread Use of Cluster Munitions |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=20 October 2014 |access-date=14 July 2023}}</ref>
* [[Eritrea]]<ref name="profile-eritrea" />
* [[Ethiopia]]<ref name="profile-ethiopia" />
* [[Germany]]
* [[Iran]]
* [[Iraq]]
* [[Laos]]
* [[Lebanon]]
* [[Libya]]
* ''[[Luhansk People's Republic]]''<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hudson |first1=John |last2=Khurshudyan |first2=Isabelle |title=Ukraine begins firing U.S.-provided cluster munitions at Russian forces |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/20/cluster-munitions-ukraine-war-russia/ |newspaper=Washington Post |date=20 July 2023}}</ref>
* [[Malta]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/boy-finds-lethal-wwii-bomb-in-qormi-valley.279340 | title=Boy finds lethal WWII bomb in Qormi valley | date=29 October 2009 }}</ref>
* [[Serbia]]
* [[South Sudan]]
* [[Sudan]]
* [[Syria]]
* [[Tajikistan]]
* [[Ukraine]]
* [[United Kingdom]]<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2013/jun/21/butterfly-bombs-luftwaffe-cleethorpes-grimsby | title=Remembering the terror the Luftwaffe's butterfly bombs brought to the North | newspaper=The Guardian | date=21 June 2013 | last1=Rogers | first1=James I. }}</ref><ref>http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/butterfly-bombs-terror/story-19270886-detail/story.html{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* [[Vietnam]]
* [[Yemen]]
* ''[[Kosovo]]''
* ''[[Western Sahara]]''
{{Div col end}}

As of November 2024, it is unclear [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] is contaminated. [[Albania]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], the [[Republic of the Congo]], [[Croatia]], [[Grenada]], [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[Mauritania]], [[Montenegro]], [[Mozambique]], [[Norway]], [[Zambia]], [[Uganda]], and [[Thailand]] completed clearance of areas contaminated by cluster munition remnants in previous years.<ref name=":1" />

==International legislation==
[[File:Erik Thorstvedt.jpg|thumb|[[Erik Thorstvedt]] leads a Norwegian parade celebrating the effectuation of the [[Convention on Cluster Munitions]], 31 July 2010. (Photo: [[Norsk Folkehjelp]]) ]]

Cluster bombs fall under the general rules of [[international humanitarian law]], but were not specifically covered by any currently binding international legal instrument until the signature of the [[Convention on Cluster Munitions]] in December 2008. This international treaty stemmed from an initiative by [[Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet]] known as the Oslo Process which was launched in February 2007 to prohibit cluster munitions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.norway.org/policy/cluster/initiative/initiative.htm |title=The Norwegian Government's initiative for a ban on cluster munitions |work=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norway)|The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111200410/http://www.norway.org/policy/cluster/initiative/initiative.htm |archive-date=11 January 2009 }}</ref> More than 100 countries agreed to the text of the resulting Convention on Cluster Munitions in May 2008 which sets out a comprehensive ban on these weapons. This treaty was signed by 94 states in Oslo on 3–4 December 2008. The Oslo Process was launched largely in response to the failure of the [[Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons]] (CCW) where five years of discussions failed to find an adequate response to these weapons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.norway.org/ARCHIVE/policy/cluster/clustermunitions/|title=Webcast from the Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions|work=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norway)|The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]|access-date=13 July 2011|archive-date=9 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609012918/http://www.norway.org/ARCHIVE/policy/cluster/clustermunitions/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) is campaigning for the widespread accession to and ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

A number of sections of the Protocol on [[explosive remnants of war]] (Protocol V to the 1980 Convention), 28 November 2003<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/FULL/610?OpenDocument|title=Treaties, States parties, and Commentaries – CCW Protocol (V) on Explosive Remnants of War, 2003|website=www.icrc.org|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref> occasionally address some of the problems associated with the use of cluster munitions, in particular Article 9, which mandates States Parties to "take generic preventive measures aimed at minimising the occurrence of explosive remnants of war". In June 2006, Belgium was the first country to issue a ban on the use (carrying), transportation, export, stockpiling, trade and production of cluster munitions,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi/article_body.pl?language=fr&caller=summary&pub_date=2006-06-09&numac=2006009449|title=Moniteur Belge – Belgisch Staatsblad|publisher=www.ejustice.just.fgov.be|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref> and Austria followed suit on 7 December 2007.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

There has been legislative activity on cluster munitions in several countries, including Austria, Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. In some of these countries, ongoing discussions concerning draft legislation banning cluster munitions, along the lines of the legislation adopted in Belgium and Austria will now turn to ratification of the global ban treaty. Norway and Ireland have national legislation prohibiting cluster munitions and were able to deposit their instruments of ratification to the Convention on Cluster Munitions immediately after signing it in Oslo on 3 December 2008.

===International treaties===
[[File:Declaration Wellington conference.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Nations subscribing to the Wellington Declaration, which led to the Convention on Cluster Munitions]]

Other weapons, such as land mines, have been banned in many countries under specific legal instruments for several years, notably the [[Ottawa Treaty]] to ban land mines, and some of the Protocols in the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons that also help clearing the lands contaminated by left munitions after the end of conflicts and provides international assistance to the affected populations. However, until the adoption of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Dublin in May 2008 cluster bombs were not banned by any international treaty and were considered legitimate weapons by some governments.

To increase pressure for governments to come to an international treaty on 13 November 2003, the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) was established with the goal of addressing the impact of cluster munitions on civilians.

International governmental deliberations in the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons turned on the broader problem of explosive remnants of war, a problem to which cluster munitions have contributed in a significant way. There were consistent calls from the Cluster Munition Coalition, the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] (ICRC) and a number of UN agencies, joined by approximately 30 governments, for international governmental negotiations to develop specific measures that would address the humanitarian problems cluster munitions pose. This did not prove possible in the conventional multilateral forum. After a reversal in the US position, in 2007 deliberations did begin on cluster munitions within the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. There was a concerted effort led by the US to develop a new protocol to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, but this proposal was rejected by over 50 states, together with civil society, ICRC and UN agencies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.article36.org/ccw-review-conference-ends-with-rejection-of-us-backed-proposal-for-protocol-that-would-allow-cluster-bomb-use|title=CCW review conference ends with rejection of US-backed proposal for protocol that would allow cluster bomb use|access-date=26 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210073831/http://www.article36.org/ccw-review-conference-ends-with-rejection-of-us-backed-proposal-for-protocol-that-would-allow-cluster-bomb-use/|archive-date=10 December 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> The discussions ended with no result in November 2011, leaving the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions as the single international standard on the weapons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/news/?id=3531|title=US-led attempt to allow cluster bomb use is rejected at UN negotiations}}</ref>

In February 2006, Belgium announced its decision to ban the weapon by law. Then Norway announced a national moratorium in June and Austria announced its decision in July to work for an international instrument on the weapon. The international controversy over the use and impact of cluster munitions during the war between Lebanon and Israel in July and August 2006 added weight to the global campaign for a ban treaty.<ref>{{cite SSRN|ssrn=1606304|title=Eitan Barak, Doomed to Be Violated? The U.S.-Israeli Clandestine End-User Agreement and the Second Lebanon War: Lessons for the Convention on Cluster Munitions |date=13 May 2010 |last1=Barak |first1=Eitan }}</ref>

[[File:Stop cluster bomb march - Uganda.jpg|left|thumb|[[Uganda]]n demonstrator at the May 2008 Dublin conference for the Convention on Cluster Munitions]]

A new flexible multilateral process similar to the process that led to the ban on anti-personnel land mines in 1997 (the [[Ottawa Treaty]]) began with an announcement in November 2006<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6140530.stm | work=BBC News | title=New bomb clean-up treaty begins | date=12 November 2006 | access-date=30 April 2010 | first=Imogen | last=Foulkes}}</ref> in [[Geneva]] as well at the same time by the Government of Norway that it would convene an international meeting in early 2007 in [[Oslo]] to work towards a new treaty prohibiting cluster munitions. Forty-nine governments attended the meeting in [[Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions|Oslo 22–23 February 2007]] in order to reaffirm their commitment to a new international ban on the weapon.

A follow-up meeting in this process was held in [[Lima]] in May where around 70 states discussed the outline of a new treaty, Hungary became the latest country to announce a moratorium and Peru launched an initiative to make [[Latin America]] a cluster munition free zone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/news.asp?id=70 |title=Report on Lima Conference |work=Cluster Munition Coalition |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121012331/http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/news.asp?id=70 |archive-date=21 November 2007 }}</ref>

In addition, the ICRC held an experts meeting on cluster munitions in April 2007 which helped clarify technical, legal, military and humanitarian aspects of the weapon with a view to developing an international response.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/p0915|title=Expert Meeting Report: Humanitarian, Military, Technical and Legal Challenges of Cluster Munitions|work=ICRC|date=3 October 2013|access-date=1 August 2007|archive-date=20 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020175822/http://icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/p0915|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Further meetings took place in [[Vienna]] on 4–7 December 2007, and in [[Wellington]] on 18–22 February 2008 where a declaration in favor of negotiations on a draft convention was adopted by more than 80 countries. In May 2008 after around [[Convention on Cluster Munitions#Nations that have subscribed to the Wellington Declaration|120 countries]] had subscribed to the Wellington Declaration and participated in the Dublin Diplomatic Conference from 19 to 30 May 2008. At the end of this conference, 107 countries agreed to adopt the Convention on Cluster Munitions, that bans cluster munitions and was opened for signature in Oslo on 3–4 December 2008 where it was signed by 94 countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clustermunitionsdublin.ie/|title=Message from Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin T.D.|website=www.clustermunitionsdublin.ie|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080619081243/http://www.clustermunitionsdublin.ie/|archive-date=19 June 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.norway.org/ARCHIVE/policy/cluster/klasevapen/|title=International ban on cluster munitions|work=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norway)|The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]|access-date=13 July 2011|archive-date=9 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609013000/http://www.norway.org/ARCHIVE/policy/cluster/klasevapen/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/news/?id=600|title=News – Media – CMC|website=www.stopclustermunitions.org|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref>
In July 2008, United States [[Defense Secretary]] [[Robert Gates|Robert M. Gates]] implemented a policy to eliminate by 2018 all cluster bombs that do not meet new safety standards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50455|title=United States Department of Defense|website=www.defenselink.mil|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref>

In November 2008, ahead of the signing Conference in Oslo,<ref>[http://www.osloccm.no/ Signing Conference Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216040435/http://www.osloccm.no/ |date=16 December 2008 }} last retrieved on 28 November 2008</ref> the [[European Parliament]] passed a resolution calling on all [[European Union]] governments to sign and ratify the Convention.<ref>[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/story_page/031-42127-322-11-47-903-20081114STO42065-2008-17-11-2008/default_en.htm Cluster bombs: MEPs to press for signature of treaty ban] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222135540/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/story_page/031-42127-322-11-47-903-20081114STO42065-2008-17-11-2008/default_en.htm |date=22 February 2009 }} last retrieved on 19 November 2008</ref>

On 16 February 2010 [[Burkina Faso]] became the 30th state to deposit its instrument of ratification for the Convention on Cluster Munitions. This means that the number of States required for the Convention to enter into force had been reached. The treaty's obligations became legally binding on the 30 ratifying States on 1 August 2010 and subsequently for other ratifying States.<ref>[http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/cluster-munition-interview-170210 Convention on Cluster Munitions to enter into force on 1 August 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811020226/http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/cluster-munition-interview-170210 |date=11 August 2010 }} ICRC web site</ref>

===Convention on Cluster Munitions===
{{Main|Convention on Cluster Munitions}}

Taking effect on 1 August 2010, the Convention on Cluster Munitions<ref>[http://www.clusterconvention.org/pages/pages_ii/iia_textenglish.html Convention on cluster munitions – convention text in English] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819162338/http://www.clusterconvention.org/pages/pages_ii/iia_textenglish.html |date=19 August 2010 }}</ref> bans the stockpiling, use and transfer of virtually all existing cluster bombs and provides for the clearing up of unexploded munitions. It had been signed by 108 countries, of which 38 had ratified it by the affected date, but many of the world's major military powers including the United States, Russia, India, Brazil and China are not signatories to the [[treaty]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-10829976|title=Cluster bomb ban comes into force|first=Stuart|last=Hughes|date=1 August 2010|work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/cluster-munitions-treaty-to-take-effect-sunday-99654369/122955.html |title=Cluster Munitions Treaty to Take Effect Sunday|date=29 July 2010 |access-date=15 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100806121531/http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/Cluster-Munitions-Treaty-to-Take-Effect-Sunday-99654369.html?refresh=1|archive-date=6 August 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/louis-belanger/cluster-bombs-treaty-beco_b_665836.html|title=Cluster Bombs Treaty becomes int'l law: Years of campaigning reap results|first=Louis|last=Belanger|website=[[HuffPost]]|date=30 July 2010|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref><ref>[https://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h4qlpqMDGYYpTAOTms0e7MiNOrTQ Canada Post: UN chief hails Aug. 1 entry into force of treaty banning cluster bombs]{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} </ref>

The Convention on Cluster Munitions entered into force on 1 August 2010, six months after it was ratified by 30 states. As of 26 September 2018, a total of 120 states had joined the Convention, as 104 States parties and 16 signatories.<ref name="The Convention on Cluster Munitions">{{cite web |date=12 January 2011 |title=States Parties and Signatories by region |url=http://www.clusterconvention.org/the-convention/convention-status/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210044412/http://www.clusterconvention.org/the-convention/convention-status/ |archive-date=10 February 2022 |access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref>

For an updated list of countries, see [[Convention on Cluster Munitions#State parties]]

===United States policy===
[[File:CBUbombs.jpg|thumb|USAF [[Rockwell B-1 Lancer|B-1 Lancer]] dropping CBU cluster bombs]]

According to the [[US State Department]], the US suspended operational use of cluster munitions in 2003,<ref name="fas30june13"/> however, Amnesty International published a report that the US used them in Yemen during the 2009 [[al-Majalah camp attack]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Spencer |first=Richard |date=7 June 2010 |title=US cluster bombs 'killed 35 women and children' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/yemen/7806882/US-cluster-bombs-killed-35-women-and-children.html |access-date=20 July 2023 |website=The Telegraph}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=7 June 2010 |title=Yemen: Images of missile and cluster munitions point to US role in fatal attack |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2010/06/yemen-images-missile-and-cluster-munitions-point-us-role-fatal-attack-2010/ |access-date=20 July 2023 |website=Amnesty International |language=en}}</ref>

US arguments favoring the use of cluster munitions are that their use reduces the number of aircraft and artillery systems needed to support military operations and if they were eliminated, significantly more money would have to be spent on new weapons, ammunition, and logistical resources. Also, militaries would need to increase their use of massed artillery and rocket barrages to get the same coverage, which would destroy or damage more key infrastructures.<ref name="fas30june13"/>

The US was initially against any CCW limitation negotiations, but dropped its opposition in June 2007. Cluster munitions have been determined as needed for ensuring the country's national security interests, but measures were taken to address humanitarian concerns of their use, as well as pursuing their original suggested alternative to a total ban of pursuing technological fixes to make the weapons no longer viable after the end of a conflict.<ref name="fas30june13">[https://fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RS22907.pdf Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress] – Fas.org, 30 June 2013</ref>

In May 2008, then-Acting [[Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs]] [[Stephen Mull]] stated that the US military relies upon cluster munitions as an important part of their war strategy.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 May 2023 |title=Cluster Munitions |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/t/pm/wra/c25930.htm |access-date=6 May 2023 |website=2001-2009.state.gov}}</ref> Mull emphasized that "US forces simply cannot fight by design or by doctrine without holding out at least the possibility of using cluster munitions."

The US Army ceased procurement of GMLRS cluster rockets in December 2008 because of a submunition dud rate as high as five percent. Pentagon policy was to have all cluster munitions used after 2018 to have a submunition unexploded ordnance rate of less than one percent. To achieve this, the Army undertook the Alternative Warhead Program (AWP) to assess and recommend technologies to reduce or eliminate cluster munition failures, as some 80 percent of US military cluster weapons reside in Army artillery stockpiles.<ref name="fas30june13" /> In July 2012, the US fired at a target area with 36 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) unitary warhead rockets. Analysis indicated that capability gaps existed as cluster munitions require approval by the Combatant Commander which reduced the advantage of responsive precision fire. The same effect could have been made by four Alternative Warhead (AW) GMLRS rockets under development by the AWP to engage the same target set as cluster munitions. Without access to the AW, the operation required using nine times as many rockets, cost nine times as much ($3.6&nbsp;million compared to $400,000), and took 40 times as long (more than 20 minutes compared to less than 30 seconds) to execute.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dau.mil/publications/DefenseATL/DATLFiles/Nov-Dec2013/Hill.pdf|title=PageNotFound|website=www.dau.mil|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201005633/http://www.dau.mil/publications/DefenseATL/DATLFiles/Nov-Dec2013/Hill.pdf|archive-date=1 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Starting with the [[Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009]] (P.L. 111-8) annual [[Consolidated Appropriations Act]] legislation has placed export moratorium language on cluster weapons since then. On 19 May 2011 the [[Defense Security Cooperation Agency]] issued a memorandum prohibiting the sale of all but the CBU-97B [[CBU-105]] [[Sensor Fuzed Weapon]] because the others have been demonstrated to have a unexploded ordnance rate of greater than 1%.<ref name="icbl">{{cite news |title=United States Cluster Munition Ban Policy |url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2020/united-states/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx#ftnref38 |publisher=ICBL - CMC |date=24 November 2020 |access-date=23 February 2023 |archive-date=29 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029102928/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2020/united-states/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx#ftnref38 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="crscm">{{cite news |title=Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress |url=https://sgp.fas.org/crs/weapons/RS22907.pdf |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=9 March 2022}}</ref>

On 30 November 2017, the Pentagon put off indefinitely their planned ban on using cluster bombs after 2018, as they had been unable to produce submunitions with failure rates of 1% or less. Since it is unclear how long it might take to achieve that standard, a months-long policy review concluded the deadline should be postponed; deployment of existing cluster weapons is left to commanders' discretion to authorize their use when deemed necessary "until sufficient quantities" of safer versions are developed and fielded.<ref>[https://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/11/30/us-putting-planned-ban-its-use-cluster-bombs.html US Putting Off Planned Ban on Its Use of Cluster Bombs] – Military.com, 30 November 2017</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Feickert|first1=Andrew|last2=Kerr|first2=Paul K.|title=Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress|date=17 December 2017|publisher=Congressional Research Service|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RS22907.pdf|access-date=24 January 2018}}</ref>

==Users==
===Countries===
At least 25 countries have used cluster munitions in recent history (since the creation of the United Nations). Countries listed in bold have signed and ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions, agreeing in principle to ban cluster bombs. Countries listed in italic have signed, but not yet ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

{{Div col|colwidth=12em}}
* {{ARM}}<ref name="profile-armenia">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/armenia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Armenia Cluster Munition Ban Policy|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405060625/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/armenia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/nagorno-karabakh/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Nagorno-Karabakh (Area) Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405175139/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/nagorno-karabakh/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{AZE}}<ref name="profile-azerbaijan">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/azerbaijan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Azerbaijan Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410232035/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/azerbaijan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{BHR}}<ref name="profile-bahrain">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/bahrain/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Bahrain Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055055/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/bahrain/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="profile-yemen">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/yemen/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Yemen Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=2 August 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055054/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/yemen/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''{{COL}}'''<ref name="profile-colombia">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/colombia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Colombia Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=1 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601112108/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/colombia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archives.the-monitor.org/index.php/cp/display/region_profiles/theme/2525|title=Colombia Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=2 September 2013|website=archives.the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018}}</ref>
* {{EGY}}<ref name="profile-egypt">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/egypt/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Egypt Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=2 August 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406022018/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/egypt/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="profile-yemen"/>
* '''{{flagicon|Ethiopia|1996}}'''<!-- Note historic flag of Ethiopia to denote when these weapons were used -->/{{ETH}}<ref name="profile-ethiopia">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/ethiopia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Ethiopia Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018}}</ref>
* {{ERI}}<ref name="profile-eritrea">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/eritrea/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Eritrea Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055030/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/eritrea/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''{{FRA}}'''<ref name="profile-france">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/france/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=France Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055037/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/france/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{GEO}}<ref name="profile-georgia">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/georgia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Georgia Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405182757/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/georgia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* {{IRN}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250723-amnesty-accuses-iran-of-firing-cluster-munitions-at-israel |title=Amnesty accuses Iran of firing cluster munitions at Israel |date=23 July 2025 |access-date=2025-08-07}}</ref>

* '''{{flagicon|Ba'athist Iraq}}<!-- Note flag of Ba'athist Iraq to denote when these weapons were used -->/{{IRQ}}'''<ref name="profile-iraq">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/iraq/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Iraq Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=9 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405060624/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/iraq/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{ISR}}<ref name="profile-israel">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/israel/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Israel Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=2 August 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605143857/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/israel/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Libyan Arab Jamahiriya}}<!-- Note historic flag of Libya to denote when these weapons were used -->/{{LBY}}<ref name="profile-libya">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/libya/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Libya Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=2 August 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406035931/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/libya/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{MAR}}<ref name="profile-morocco">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/morocco/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Morocco Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406023533/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/morocco/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''{{NLD}}'''<ref name="profile-netherlands">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/netherlands/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Netherlands Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=8 August 2016|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405175301/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/netherlands/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''{{NGA}}'''<ref name="profile-nigeria">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/nigeria/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Nigeria Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=2 August 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055034/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/nigeria/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.the-monitor.org/index.php/cp/display/region_profiles/theme/3750|title=Nigeria Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=12 August 2014|website=archives.the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018}}</ref> <small>(responsibility denied)</small>
* {{RUS}}<ref name="profile-russia">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/russian-federation/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Russia Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=7 August 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605125526/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/russian-federation/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{SAU}}<ref name="profile-saudi-arabia">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/saudi-arabia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Saudi Arabia Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055032/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/saudi-arabia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''{{flagicon|South Africa|1928}}<!-- Note flag of Apartheid South Africa to denote when these weapons were used-->/{{ZAF}}'''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/10500/1475/7/12appendix9a9b.pdf|title=Appendix A to Chapter 9 of the Cassinga Raid|author=Edward McGill Alexander|publisher=[[University of South Africa]]|date=July 2003|access-date=27 September 2018}}</ref>
* '''{{LKA}}'''<ref name="profile-sri-lanka">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/sri-lanka/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Sri Lanka Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=9 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405175216/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/sri-lanka/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> <small>(responsibility denied)</small>
* {{SDN}}<ref name="profile-sudan">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/sudan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Sudan Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=9 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405175327/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/sudan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{SYR}}<ref name="profile-syria">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/syria/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Syria Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=2 August 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=1 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601113929/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/syria/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{THA}}<ref name="profile-thailand">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/thailand/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Thailand Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055023/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/thailand/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{USA}}<ref name="profile-united-states">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/united-states/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=United States Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=2 August 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=15 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715192855/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/united-states/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{UKR}}<ref>{{cite news| last1 = Hudson| first1 = John| last2 = Khurshudyan| first2 = Isabelle| title = Ukraine begins firing U.S.-provided cluster munitions at Russian forces| newspaper = [[Washington Post]]| date = 20 July 2023| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/20/cluster-munitions-ukraine-war-russia/| access-date = 21 July 2023}}</ref>
{{Div col end}}

In addition, at least three countries that no longer exist (the [[Soviet Union]], [[Yugoslavia]]<ref name="hrw-report-2010">{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/11/22/meeting-challenge/protecting-civilians-through-convention-cluster-munitions#f1b2c8|title=Meeting the Challenge – I. The Technological Evolution and Early Proliferation and Use of Cluster Munitions|date=22 November 2010|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=27 September 2018}}</ref> and the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wright |first=Lawrence |url=http://archive.org/details/loomingtoweralqa00wrig |title=The looming tower : Al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11 |date=2006 |location=New York |publisher=Knopf |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-375-41486-2}}</ref>) used cluster bombs. In some cases, the responsibility or even the use of cluster munition is denied by the local government.

===Non-state armed groups===

Very few [[violent non-state actor]]s have used cluster munitions and their delivery systems due to the complexity.<ref name="TheMonitor2019-p15">{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=August 2019 |title=Cluster Munition Monitor 2019 |url=http://www.the-monitor.org/media/3047840/Cluster-Munition-Monitor-2019_online.pdf#page=28 |publisher=International Campaign to Ban Landmines – Cluster Munition Coalition |page=15 |isbn=978-2-9701146-5-9 |access-date=2 March 2020 |archive-date=30 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130165115/http://the-monitor.org/media/3047840/Cluster-Munition-Monitor-2019_online.pdf#page=28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As of August 2019, cluster munitions have been used in conflicts by non-state actors in at least six countries.<ref name="TheMonitor2019-p15" />

{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}
* {{flagdeco|Herzeg-Bosnia}} Croatian militia<ref name="TheMonitor2019-p15" />
* {{flag|Hezbollah}}<ref name="TheMonitor2019-p15" />
* {{flag|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant}}<ref name="TheMonitor2019-p15" />
* {{flagdeco|Afghanistan|1992}} [[Northern Alliance]]<ref name="TheMonitor2019-p15" />
* {{flagdeco|Republika Srpska (1992–95)}}/{{flagdeco|Republic of Serbian Krajina}} Serbian militia<ref name="TheMonitor2019-p15" />
* {{flagicon image|War Flag of Novorussia.svg}} [[Separatist forces of the war in Donbas]]<ref name="TheMonitor2019-p15" />
{{Div col end}}

==Producers==
At least 31 nations have produced cluster munitions in recent history (since the creation of the United Nations). Many of these nations still have stocks of these munitions.<ref name="stockpilers1">{{cite web|url=http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/en-gb/cluster-bombs/global-problem/stockpilers.aspx|title=Global Problem – Stockpilers of Cluster Munitions|publisher=Cluster Munition Coalition|website=www.stopclustermunitions.org|access-date=27 September 2018}}</ref><ref name="stockpilers2">{{cite web |date=2025-06-18 |title=Overview of Article 3 (stockpile destruction) deadlines |url=https://www.clusterconvention.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Overview-of-Article-3-deadlines.pdf |access-date=2025-06-29 |website=Convention on Cluster Munitions }}</ref> Most (but not all) of them are involved in recent wars or long unsolved international conflicts; however most of them did not use the munitions they produced. Countries listed in bold have signed and ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions, agreeing in principle to ban cluster bombs. As of February 2024, countries marked with an [[Asterisk|Asterisk (*)]] officially ceased production of cluster munitions; countries marked with two asterisks (**) unofficially ceased production of cluster munitions.

{{Div col|colwidth=12em}}
* '''{{BEL}}*'''<ref name="profile-belgium">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/belgium/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Belgium Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=29 July 2015|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055119/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/belgium/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''{{BIH}}*'''<ref name="profile-bosnia-herzegovina">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/bosnia-and-herzegovina/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Bosnia and Herzegovina Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=31 July 2015|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055044/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/bosnia-and-herzegovina/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{BRA}}<ref name="profile-brazil">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/brazil/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Brazil Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=22 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922010431/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/brazil/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''{{CHL}}*'''<ref name="profile-chile">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/chile/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Chile Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=21 July 2016|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055033/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/chile/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{CHN}}<ref name="profile-china">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/china/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=China Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=27 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927165240/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/china/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''{{CRO}}*'''<ref name="profile-croatia">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/croatia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Croatia Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=2 August 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055112/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/croatia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{EGY}}<ref name="profile-egypt"/>
* '''{{FRA}}*'''<ref name="profile-france"/>
* '''{{DEU}}*'''<ref name="profile-germany">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/germany/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Germany Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=8 August 2016|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=15 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715040357/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/germany/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{GRE}}**<ref name="profile-greece">{{cite web|url=https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2023/greece/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Greece Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=5 September 2023|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=14 March 2024|archive-date=14 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314213226/https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2023/greece/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{IND}}<ref name="profile-india">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/india/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927165217/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/india/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 September 2018|title=India Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018}}</ref>
* {{IRN}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/arms/cluster0407/index.htm#_ftn20|title=Survey of Cluster Munitions Produced and Stockpiled|date=April 2007|website=www.hrw.org|access-date=27 September 2018}}</ref>
* '''{{flagicon|Ba'athist Iraq}}<!-- Note flag of Ba'athist Iraq to denote when these weapons were produced-->/{{IRQ}}*'''<ref name="profile-iraq"/>
* {{ISR}}**<ref name="profile-israel"/>
* '''{{JPN}}*'''<ref name="profile-japan">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/japan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Japan Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=10 August 2015|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055029/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/japan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''{{NLD}}*'''<ref name="profile-netherlands"/>
* {{PRK}}<ref name="profile-north-korea">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/korea,-democratic-peoples-republic-of/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=North Korea Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055120/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/korea,-democratic-peoples-republic-of/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{KOR}}<ref name="profile-south-korea">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/korea,-republic-of/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=South Korea Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=2 August 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055028/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/korea,-republic-of/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{PAK}}<ref name="profile-pakistan">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/pakistan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Pakistan Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055116/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/pakistan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{POL}}<ref name="profile-poland">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/poland/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Poland Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055113/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/poland/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{ROU}}**<ref name="profile-romania">{{cite web|url=https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2023/romania/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Romania Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=8 August 2023|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=14 March 2024|archive-date=14 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314213228/https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2023/romania/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{RUS}}<ref name="profile-russia"/>
* {{SGP}}**<ref name="profile-singapore">{{cite web|url=https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2023/singapore/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Singapore Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=5 September 2023|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=14 March 2024|archive-date=14 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314213227/https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2023/singapore/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''{{SVK}}*'''<ref name="profile-slovakia">{{cite web|url=https://archives2.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2022/slovakia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Slovakia Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=14 August 2022|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=18 August 2024}}</ref>
* '''{{ZAF}}*'''<ref name="profile-south-africa">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/south-africa/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=South Africa Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=2 August 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405060628/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/south-africa/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''{{ESP}}*'''<ref name="profile-spain">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/spain/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Spain Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=8 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055053/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/spain/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''{{SWE}}*'''<ref name="profile-sweden">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/sweden/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Sweden Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=8 August 2016|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405060600/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/sweden/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{TWN}}<ref name="profile-taiwan">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/taiwan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Taiwan Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 August 2016|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405060601/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/taiwan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{TUR}}*<ref name="profile-turkey">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/turkey/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Turkey Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=9 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405060641/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/turkey/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''{{GBR}}*'''<ref name="profile-united-kingdom">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/united-kingdom/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=United Kingdom Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=12 August 2015|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405060600/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/united-kingdom/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{USA}}**<ref name="profile-united-states"/>
{{Div col end}}

==Countries with stocks==
As of June 2025, at least 47 countries have stockpiles of cluster munitions.<ref name="stockpilers1"/><ref name="stockpilers2"/> Countries listed in bold have signed and ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions, agreeing in principle that their stockpiles should be destroyed. Countries listed in italic have signed, but not yet ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions; countries marked with an [[Asterisk|Asterisk (*)]] are in the process of destroying their stockpiles.

{{Div col|colwidth=12em}}
* {{ALG}}<ref name="profile-algeria">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/algeria/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Algeria Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405060640/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/algeria/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{AZE}}<ref name="profile-azerbaijan"/>
* {{BHR}}<ref name="profile-bahrain"/>
* {{BLR}}<ref name="profile-belarus">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/belarus/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Belarus Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055049/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/belarus/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{BRA}}<ref name="profile-brazil"/>
* {{CAM}}<ref name="profile-cambodia">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/cambodia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Cambodia Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405060643/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/cambodia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{CHN}}<ref name="profile-china"/>
* ''{{CYP}}''<ref name="profile-cyprus">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/cyprus/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Cyprus Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=30 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930183200/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/cyprus/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{EGY}}<ref name="profile-egypt"/>
* {{ERI}}<ref name="profile-eritrea"/>
* {{EST}}<ref name="profile-estonia">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/estonia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Estonia Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406023602/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/estonia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{ETH}}<ref name="profile-ethiopia"/>
* {{FIN}}<ref name="profile-finland">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/finland/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Finland Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405182803/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/finland/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{GEO}}<ref name="profile-georgia"/>
* {{GRE}}<ref name="profile-greece"/>
* {{IND}}<ref name="profile-india"/>
* ''{{IDN}}''<ref name="profile-indonesia">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/indonesia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Indonesia Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406080811/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/indonesia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{IRN}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/iran/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Iran Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=2 August 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=1 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601130638/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/iran/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{ISR}}<ref name="profile-israel"/>
* {{JOR}}<ref name="profile-jordan">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/jordan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Jordan Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055056/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/jordan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{KAZ}}<ref name="profile-kazakhstan">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/kazakhstan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Kazakhstan Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055101/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/kazakhstan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{PRK}}<ref name="profile-north-korea"/>
* {{KOR}}<ref name="profile-south-korea"/>
* {{KUW}}<ref name="profile-kuwait">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/kuwait/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Kuwait Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406022032/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/kuwait/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{LBY}}<ref name="profile-libya"/>
* {{MAR}}<ref name="profile-morocco"/>
* {{OMN}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.the-monitor.org/index.php/cp/display/region_profiles/theme/3766|title=Oman Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=12 August 2014|website=archives.the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018}}</ref>
* {{PAK}}<ref name="profile-pakistan"/>
* {{POL}}<ref name="profile-poland"/>
* {{QAT}}<ref name="profile-qatar">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/qatar/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Qatar Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406040011/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/qatar/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{ROU}}<ref name="profile-romania"/>
* {{RUS}}<ref name="profile-russia"/>
* {{SAU}}<ref name="profile-saudi-arabia"/>
* {{SRB}}<ref name="profile-serbia">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/serbia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Serbia Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=3 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=24 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724042217/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/serbia/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{SGP}}<ref name="profile-singapore"/>
* {{SDN}}<ref name="profile-sudan"/>
* {{SYR}}<ref name="profile-syria"/>
* {{TWN}}<ref name="profile-taiwan"/>
* {{THA}}<ref name="profile-thailand"/>
* {{TUR}}<ref name="profile-turkey"/>
* {{TKM}}<ref name="profile-turkmenistan">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/turkmenistan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Turkmenistan Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055056/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/turkmenistan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{UAE}}<ref name="profile-united-arab-emirates">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/united-arab-emirates/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=United Arab Emirates Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=9 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055055/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/united-arab-emirates/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{USA}}<ref name="profile-united-states"/>
* {{UZB}}<ref name="profile-uzbekistan">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/uzbekistan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Uzbekistan Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=26 June 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405060629/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/uzbekistan/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{VEN}}<ref name="profile-venezuela">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/venezuela/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Venezuela Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=9 July 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405055057/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/venezuela/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{YEM}}<ref name="profile-yemen"/>
* {{ZIM}}<ref name="profile-zimbabwe">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/zimbabwe/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|title=Zimbabwe Cluster Munition Ban Policy|date=2 August 2018|website=the-monitor.org|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=9 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609091624/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/zimbabwe/cluster-munition-ban-policy.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{Div col end}}

==Financiers==

According to BankTrack, an international network of [[non-governmental organization]]s specializing in control of [[financial institution]]s, many major [[bank]]s and other financial corporations either directly financed, or provided financial services to companies producing cluster munition in 2005–2012. Among other, BankTrack 2012 report<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.banktrack.org/manage/ajax/ems_dodgydeals/createPDF/cluster_munitions_producers|title=Financial institutions involved in CM production process, 2012 report by BankTrack|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825134655/http://www.banktrack.org/manage/ajax/ems_dodgydeals/createPDF/cluster_munitions_producers|archive-date=25 August 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> names [[ABN AMRO]], [[Bank of America]], [[Bank of China]], [[Barclays]], [[BBVA]], [[BNP Paribas]], [[Citigroup]], [[Commerzbank]], [[Commonwealth Bank]], [[Crédit Agricole]], [[Credit Suisse]], [[Deutsche Bank]], [[Goldman Sachs]], [[HSBC]], [[Industrial Bank of China]], [[ING Group]], [[JPMorgan Chase]], [[Korea Development Bank]], [[Lloyds Bank]], [[Merrill Lynch]], [[Morgan Stanley]], [[MUFG Bank]], [[Royal Bank of Canada]], [[Royal Bank of Scotland]], [[Sberbank]], [[Société Générale]], [[UBS]] and [[Wells Fargo]].

Many of these financial companies are connected to such producers of cluster munitions as [[Alliant Techsystems]], [[China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation]], [[Hanwha]], [[Norinco]], [[Singapore Technologies Engineering]], [[Textron]], and others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Key%20findings%202014%20-%20UNDER%20EMBARGO%20UNTIL%2027%20NOV,%2001.00%20GMT.pdf|title=Key Findings from the November 2014 update of "Worldwide Investments in Cluster Munitions a shared responsibility" by PAX|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref>

According to Pax Christi, a Netherlands-based NGO, in 2009, around 137 financial institutions financed cluster munition production.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/06/14-1|title=Report: Banks, Financial Institutions Still Funding Cluster Bomb-Making Companies with Billions of Dollars|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-date=25 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325034427/http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/06/14-1|url-status=dead}}</ref> Out of 137 institutions, 63 were based in the US, another 18 in the EU (the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy etc.), 16 were based in China, 4 in Singapore, 3 in each of: Canada, Japan, Taiwan, 2 in Switzerland, and 4 other countries had 1 financial institution involved.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stopexplosiveinvestments.org/uploads/pdf/5.%20Worldwide%20investments%20in%20cluster%20munitions;%20a%20shared%20responsibility%20June%202012.pdf|title=Worldwide investments in CLUSTER MUNITIONS a shared responsibility IKV Pax Christi report update June 2012|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112182123/http://www.stopexplosiveinvestments.org/uploads/pdf/5.%20Worldwide%20investments%20in%20cluster%20munitions;%20a%20shared%20responsibility%20June%202012.pdf|archive-date=12 November 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Anti-runway penetration bomb]]
* [[Ban Advocates]]
* [[Bomb disposal]]
* [[Canister shot]]
* [[Cluster Munition Coalition]]
* [[Demining]]
* [[Fares Scale of Injuries due to Cluster Munitions]]
* [[List of cluster bombs]]
* [[Mines Advisory Group]]
* [[Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book|last=Clancy|first=Tom|title=Fighter Wing|location=London|publisher=HarperCollins, 1995|isbn=0-00-255527-1|ref={{harvid|Clancy|1995}}|year=1996}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Cluster munitions}}
* [http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/ Cluster Munition Coalition]
* [https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/weapons/cluster-munitions Cluster munitions and international humanitarian law] International Committee of the Red Cross
* [http://www.clusterconvention.org/ Convention on Cluster Munitions] – Official website serving the government initiative to ban cluster munitions
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131112184719/http://www.handicapinternational.be/en/publications/%E2%80%9Ccircle-of-impact%E2%80%9D-report-on-the-human-impact-of-cluster-bombs Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities] 16 May 2007
* [https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/campaign-ban-cluster-bombs Council on Foreign Relations: The Campaign to Ban Cluster Bombs] 21 November 2006
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110725035612/http://www.banadvocates.org/ Ban Advocates – Voices from affected communities]

===Technical===
* [https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/cbu-97.htm Federation of American Scientists article on the CBU97 and CBU105 cluster bombs with smart munitions.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729170646/https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/cbu-97.htm |date=29 July 2016 }}
* [https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/blu-114.htm Federation of American Scientists article on the BLU-114 anti-electrical weapon.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102145759/http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/blu-114.htm |date=2 January 2016 }}

===Inquiries===
* [http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/FADT_CTTE/cluster_bill_2006/index.htm Inquiry by the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee of the Australian Senate into the provisions of the Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070712210514/http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/fadt_ctte/cluster_bill_2006/index.htm |date=12 July 2007 }}

{{Fortifications}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cluster Bomb}}
[[Category:Cluster munitions| ]]
[[Category:Explosive weapons]]
[[Category:Submunitions]]
[[Category:Area denial weapons]]