The problems caused by cluster munitions

The consequences of cluster munition use for civilians are grave. They cause problems at the time of use and long after.

Most cluster munitions are fragmentation weapons. This means that they function by the dispersal of shrapnel over a radius that can be as wide as 50-metres. The effects of such shrapnel on human beings include deep wounds from the metal fragments, the loss of limbs and extremities and, in most cases, death. In addition to the effects of shrapnel, the blast from the high explosive charge inside each bomblet or submunition can lead to blindness and internal complications. Cluster munitions may also contain an incendiary causing burns.

Cluster munition attacks often lead to the destruction of houses and important infrastructure. Other important community assets such as livestock are also often destroyed in cluster munition attacks.

Like all weapons, cluster munitions leave unexploded ordnance, often referred to as explosive remnants of war (ERW). ERW from cluster munitions is very dangerous, since it is highly explosive, contains deadly shrapnel, and is small and often attractive to children. Accidents involving unexploded bomblets or submunitions from cluster munition attacks are triggered when people deliberately or inadvertantly come into contact with the ordnance. Explosions from these incidents can kill anyone within 50-metre radius. ERW incidents with cluster munitions often result in multiple deaths because a group of people, often children, gather around the item. Deaths and injuries to people who come into contact with unexploded cluster munitions are the clearest example of the indiscriminate long-term consequences of the weapon.

Because of their use in such large numbers, even the smallest failure rate of bomblets or submunitions from a cluster munition attack leads to dense contamination from ERW. Unfortunately, cluster munitions have demonstrated particularly high failure rates in the various conflicts in which they have been used. This means that civilians are forced to abandon their land, which in many war-torn societies is the only source of income. These socio-economic effects are devastating to communities that have already been subjected to the injustice of armed conflict.

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