Our U.N. Ambassador Spoke the Truth. Then Her Remarks Got -- Revised?
On March 2, 2022, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield delivered to the General Assembly a speech about the conflict in Ukraine. An excerpt:
“...And now, it appears Russia is preparing to increase the brutality of its campaign against Ukraine. We have seen videos of Russian forces moving exceptionally lethal weaponry into Ukraine, which has no place on the battlefield. That includes cluster munitions and vacuum bombs – which are banned* under the Geneva Convention….
*the use of which directed against civilians is banned under the Geneva Conventions.” (1)
The use of cluster munitions against civilians (only) is banned?
Ummm…...not quite.
Under the Convention, they’re banned entirely — just like the Ambassador said.
“Article 1”
“General obligations and scope of application”
“1. Each State Party undertakes never under any circumstances to:
(a) Use cluster munitions….” (2)
Oh, I forgot to mention something. “110 State Parties and 13 Signatories” have joined the Convention. (3)
Surprise (not!): the United States and Russia aren’t parties.
“Cluster munitions can be fired from the ground by artillery systems, rockets, and projectiles or dropped from aircrafts. They typically disperse in the air, spreading multiple bomblets or submunitions indiscriminately over a wide area. Many fail to explode on initial impact, leaving dangerous duds that can kill and maim, like landmines, for years to come until they are cleared and destroyed.” (4)
“(The US has) used cluster munitions in several countries in the past: Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam (1960s and 1970s); Grenada and Lebanon (1983); Libya (1986); Iran (1988); Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia (1991); Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995); Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo (1999); Afghanistan (2001 and 2002); and Iraq (2003).” (5)
Despicably, Russia also uses cluster munitions. And they’re using them this very day in Ukraine: “Top U.S. and United Nations officials believe there are credible reports of Russian forces using deadly cluster munitions banned by most of the world in the ongoing military invasion of Ukraine, a sign of the Kremlin’s increasing disregard for civilian life and humanitarian law in the three-week-old war.” (6)
Shame, shame, shame on the Russians. And shame, too, on the U.S. officials who edited Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield’s remarks to intimate – falsely – that the Convention on Cluster Munitions permits use of such armaments in military (as opposed to civilian) applications. She’s owed an apology.
Finally, I hope it is self-evident that our country needs to get out of the cluster munitions business altogether – and get in step with most of the rest of the world.
Sources:
(2) https://www.clusterconvention.org/files/convention_text/Convention-ENG.pdf#page=2
(3) https://www.clusterconvention.org/states-parties/
(4) https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/09/15/us-commit-joining-cluster-munitions-ban#
(5) https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/12/01/us-embraces-cluster-munitions
(6) https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/16/russia-military-ukraine-cluster-munitions-civilian-casualties/
Background — Department of Defense policies on cluster munitions:
https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/DOD-POLICY-ON-CLUSTER-MUNITIONS-OSD071415-17.pdf