Five-Year Review: Non-signatory Qatar has not made a public statement detailing its position on accession to the convention. It has participated as an observer in all of the convention’s Meetings of States Parties and has condemned the use of cluster munitions in Syria. Qatar is not known to have used, produced, or exported cluster munitions, but it has imported them and has a stockpile.

Policy

The State of Qatar has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

While Qatar has not made a public statement expressing its views on cluster munitions or its position on joining the convention, government officials have informed the CMC and Monitor since 2009 that Qatar is studying the convention and implications of accession.[1]

Qatar participated in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and joined in its consensus adoption in Dublin in May 2008. Yet Qatar attended the Signing Conference in Oslo in December 2008 only as an observer and did not sign the convention.[2]

Qatar has participated as an observer in all of the convention’s Meetings of States Parties, including the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in San Jose, Costa Rica in September 2014. It did not make any statements at these meetings. Qatar attended the convention’s intersessional meetings in Geneva once, in April 2013.

On 16 October 2012, Qatar said it was “appalled” that the Syrian government had “used advanced weapons and cluster munitions against its own people.”[3] Qatar has voted in favor of UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, including Resolution 69/189 on 18 December 2014, which expressed “outrage” at the continued use.[4] Qatar has voted for two Human Rights Council resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently on 2 July 2015.[5]

Qatar is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

In September 2011, a government representative informed the Monitor that Qatar has never used or exported cluster munitions.[6] Qatar is not known to have produced cluster munitions.

In September 2013, a Ministry of Defense representative confirmed to the CMC that Qatar possesses a stockpile of cluster munitions, which have been used in training.[7] Qatar acquired ASTROS rockets with cluster munition warheads from Brazil.[8]

Qatar is participating in a Saudi Arabia-led coalition of states that began attacking Ansar Allah (the Houthi) in Yemen on 25 March 2015, in a conflict that was continuing as of 20 July 2015.[9] United States (US)-supplied cluster munitions have been used in airstrikes by coalition forces, but the state or states responsible for the use have not been identified.[10] The cluster munition attacks in Yemen have been condemned by a number of states, the president of the convention’s Fifth Meeting of States Parties, the CMC, and others.[11]

Foreign stockpiling

According to a US diplomatic cable dated 26 November 2008 and released by Wikileaks in 2011, the US Armed Forces stored cluster munitions in Qatar. The cable states, “The U.S. stores cluster munitions in Qatar. Post reports that it is unknown whether Qatar is aware that U.S. cluster munitions are stored there. Post suspects that if Qatar does sign the treaty, the Qataris would want to ensure no cluster munitions are stored there, though to Post’s knowledge this is not something the U.S. has ever discussed with Doha. The U.S. would need to make a direct inquiry to determine if Qatar is going to sign and to discover Qatari intentions. Post anticipates Qatar would request removal of cluster munitions if Qatar signed and were aware of U.S. stocks.”[12]