Bhutan
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
Summary: Non-signatory Bhutan has expressed support for the convention’s objectives, but it has not taken any steps toward accession. Bhutan has participated in one meeting of the convention and it voted in favor of key UN resolutions on the convention in 2015 and 2016. Bhutan has stated that it does not possess cluster munitions and it is not known to have used, produced, or transferred them.
Policy
The Kingdom of Bhutan has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Bhutan has never made a public statement detailing its position on joining the convention. Officials have expressed support for the convention’s objectives, but indicate that Bhutan has limited resources available internally to undertake the accession process.[1]
In December 2016, Bhutan voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution, which urges states outside the convention to “join as soon as possible.”[2] It also voted in favor of the first UNGA resolution on the convention in December 2015.[3] Bhutan has not explained why it has supported these resolutions promoting the convention.
Bhutan did not participate in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Bhutan has attended one meeting of the Convention on Cluster Munitions: in June 2015 its Geneva-based representative attended an intersessional meeting in Geneva.[4]
Bhutan is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling
Bhutan is not known to have used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions. In October 2010, a government representative said that Bhutan is a peaceful country that does not have any cluster munitions and does not plan to acquire them.[5]
[1] In October 2010, Bhutan’s permanent representative to the UN in New York told the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) that the government views the convention as “a commendable achievement” and was “looking at it very closely with a view to taking positive action” on accession. Meeting with Amb. Lhatu Wangchuk, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the UN in New York, New York, 19 October 2010. Notes by the CMC. See also, interview with Kingye Singye, Minister-Counselor, Embassy of the Kingdom of Bhutan, New Delhi, 29 January 2010.
[2] “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 70/54, 7 December 2015.
[3] “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 71/45, 5 December 2016.
[4] The representative said he was participating to learn more about the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Monitor interview with Tandin Dorji, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Bhutan to the UN in Geneva, Geneva, 22 June 2015. In October 2009, Bhutan attended a special event on the Convention on Cluster Munitions at the UN in New York.
[5] Meeting with Amb. Lhatu Wangchuk, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the UN in New York, New York, 19 October 2010. Notes by the CMC.