Mexico expresses concern over Lithuania's decision to withdraw from the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Mexico expresses concern over Lithuania's decision to withdraw from the Convention on Cluster Munitions

On behalf of the Government of Mexico, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its great concern regarding Lithuania's decision to take steps to withdraw the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), in force since 2010, which currently has 112 States parties.

Mexico was a member of the core group of countries that promoted the negotiation and conclusion of the Convention. Our country will preside over the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties (12MSP) to the CCM, which will take place from September 10-13 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The CCM prohibits all use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions. It requires its parties to destroy their stockpiles, clear contaminated areas, and provide risk education and assistance to victims. Since the Convention's entry into force, 95 percent of the stockpiles of cluster munitions have been destroyed.

The international community banned cluster munitions due to their indiscriminate use, unpredictability, the contamination they produce, and the high risk they pose to civilians in the years to come. Most countries in the international community share this assessment, which is why the Convention must be preserved and strengthened.

Lithuania's withdrawal from the CCM would weaken international humanitarian law and contravene the efforts of the international community to ensure the protection of civilians in conflicts. An estimated 94 percent of recorded cluster munitions victims are civilians, of which almost 40 percent are children.

Mexico reaffirms its strong condemnation of the use of cluster munitions by any actor, anywhere, and under any circumstances. It calls on all countries to join the Convention and to refrain from using, developing, producing, acquiring, stockpiling, and transferring such munitions.

Mexico expresses its readiness to engage in dialogue and adopt any measures that encourage Lithuania to reconsider its position and remain party to the CCM, thus strengthening international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians.

Mexico's statement as President of the 12th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions is available here: https://www.clusterconvention.org/12-msp-presidency-statement-on-lithuanias-potential-withdrawal-from-the-convention-on-cluster-munitions/