Germany has opposed the shipment of cluster munitions to Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister announced Friday, a day after US authorities said they planned to supply such weapons to Kiev, which was widely condemned for killing and mutilating civilians.
Several human rights organizations opposed the supply of these types of weapons. German Minister Annalena Baerbock stressed that as one of the 111 states participating in the Cluster Munitions Convention [ou de Fragmentação] (CCM), did too. The United States is not a party to the treaty.
“I follow what the media convey. For us as a member state [da CCM]does the Oslo Accord apply,” he told journalists, quoted by Reutersat a climate conference in Vienna.
The Oslo Accord, signed in the Norwegian capital in 2008, bans the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of cluster munitions.
The White House said it is considering shipping this munitions to Ukraine, but has no official announcement yet. President Joe Biden will attend a NATO summit next week in Lithuania, which is expected to be dominated by the war in Ukraine.
Human Rights Watch called on Russia and Ukraine to stop using cluster munitions and urged the US not to supply them.
This ammunition usually releases a large number of small bombs that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area and threaten the lives of civilians. Unexploded bombs are a danger even several years after conflicts have ended.
Source: DN
