Five-Year Review: State Party Malawi was among the first 30 ratifications that triggered the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010. Malawi has participated in several of the convention’s Meetings of States Parties, most recently in 2013. It has elaborated its views on a number of important interpretative issues relating to implementation of the convention. In its initial transparency report for the convention provided in 2011, Malawi confirmed it has not used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions and has not retained any for training or research purposes.

Policy

The Republic of Malawi signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified on 7 October 2009. It was among the first 30 ratifications that triggered the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010.

Malawi has expressed its intent to adopt implementing legislation for the convention, but the status of that process was not known as of July 2015. Previously, in 2011, it reported that draft-implementing legislation for the convention would “soon” be introduced for parliamentary approval.[1]

Malawi provided an initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 27 January 2011. As of 7 July 2015, it had not submitted any of the updated reports due by 30 April each year.[2]

Malawi participated in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and supported a comprehensive ban without exceptions.[3]

Malawi has participated in three of the convention’s Meeting of States Parties (2010, 2012, and 2013), but it did not attend the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in San Jose, Costa Rica in September 2014. Malawi has not attended intersessional meetings of the convention held in Geneva since 2011. Malawi has participated in regional workshops on the convention, most recently a seminar hosted by Zambia and the ICRC in Lusaka on 17–18 June 2015.[4]

Malawi has voted in favor of UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently Resolution 69/189 on 18 December 2014, which expressed “outrage” at the continued use.[5]

Interpretive issues

Malawi has described the prohibitions contained in the Convention on Cluster Munitions as “absolute with no exception or loopholes.”[6] In March 2010, Malawi elaborated its views on a range of important issues related to interpretation and implementation of the convention, including that:

• Article 1(c) of the convention’s prohibition of assistance “should read to prohibit investments in CM [cluster munition] producers.”
• “As well as transfer, the transit of CM is prohibited” under the convention.
• “States Parties must not intentionally or deliberately assist, induce or encourage any prohibited activity” under the convention during joint military operations with states not party that may use cluster munitions.
• “There should be no stockpiling of CM of non-State Parties on the territory under the jurisdiction or control of a State Party and State Parties must ensure the destruction or removal of CM of foreign states on the territory.”
• The retention of cluster munitions for training and development “should be the exception and not the rule,” and those that do retain should only keep a “very limited number.”[7]
  

Malawi is party to the Mine Ban Treaty. Malawi is not party the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Malawi does not possess stockpiles, does not retain any cluster munitions or explosive submunitions for training or other purposes, and does not have facilities that produce cluster munitions.[8] Malawi is not known to have ever used or transferred cluster munitions.