Concerns over potential breaches of international humanitarian law in cluster munitions use in Ukraine are based on a misguided interpretation of the legal position. More so, the argument against supporting Ukraine with the provision of cluster bombs shows a fundamentally flawed assumption of moral equivalence between Ukraine and Russia, and how each country uses these munitions.
Ample evidence exists of Russia’s deployment of cluster munitions against residential areas in a bid to cause maximum civilian casualties and collateral damage in its campaign against Ukraine – and in repeated instances beforehand.
Ukraine, fighting on its own territory, has pledged to use these weapons judiciously and strictly in accordance with international humanitarian law.
The controversy
The abuse of cluster munitions by Russia has played a substantial role in the high civilian casualties and the extensive destruction of civilian infrastructure, including residences, healthcare facilities, and educational establishments in Ukraine. This has largely not been the subject of international condemnation, coming as it does in the context of indiscriminate missile attacks by Russia against Ukrainian populated areas and mass atrocities at closer quarters.
Yet agreement by the United States to make up a shortfall in Ukrainian artillery munitions with dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) has met with widespread criticism, with concerns suddenly raised about the potential long-term harm to civilians as well as immediate casualties. Both UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have voiced official disapprobation – as they are obliged to do as signatories of the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which Russia, Ukraine and the United States are not.
These concerns are indeed valid. Nevertheless, it is essential to recognise that Russia has not only violated international humanitarian law but also the principles of just war. With Russia persisting in these actions, Ukraine is no longer bound by its strictures in response.
Full piece at https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/cluster-munitions-necessary-defensive-strategy-ukraine
