Editorial | Cluster bombs hit at the chances for peace

Cluster bombs are now being used by Ukraine after the US agreed to Kyiv’s request for the controversial weapons to fight Russian invasion forces. The move is of great concern not only over the ethics of using cluster munitions, but also because it reflects dimming hopes for a quick resolution of a conflict that has dragged on for more than 500 days.

A single cluster bomb releases a large number of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over an area the size of several football pitches. The devices date back to World War II and were first airdropped by the former Soviet Union. In the 1970s, American forces created a deadly legacy by using millions of them in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

More than 100 countries signed a 2010 agreement banning the production, stockpiling, use, and transfer of cluster munitions. Russia, Ukraine, the US and China are among about 16 nations that have not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Most of the munitions leave behind some unexploded bomblets, which often resemble scrap metal or toys. Children are frequently among those maimed or killed by them decades after a conflict ends.

US President Joe Biden said releasing some of America’s stocks of cluster bombs was a “difficult decision” but the “right thing to do”. Washington said Kyiv has promised to minimise the risk to civilians.

The White House also insists that only newer munitions with “lower dud rates” will be provided, but a presidential waiver was required because the bombs still do not satisfy a congressional mandate blocking exports of munitions with failure rates over 1 per cent.