Dominican Republic
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
Summary: State Party the Dominican Republic ratified the convention in December 2011. It has participated in some of the convention’s meetings, most recently in 2016. The Dominican Republic has not yet provided its initial transparency report for the convention to formally confirm it has not used, produced, or stockpiled cluster munitions.
Policy
The Dominican Republic signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 10 November 2009, ratified on 20 December 2011, and the convention entered into force for the country on 1 June 2012.
It is not clear if the Dominican Republic will enact legislative measures to enforce its implementation of the convention beyond ratification legislation approved by the Senate on 21 March 2011.[1]
As of 30 June 2017, the Dominican Republic still has not provided its initial Article 7 transparency report for the convention, which was originally due by 28 November 2012.
The Dominican Republic actively participated in the Oslo Process and supported a strong convention text during the Dublin negotiations in May 2008.[2]
The Dominican Republic has participated in several meetings of the convention, most recently the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2016. It has also attended regional workshops on cluster munitions, such as the one held in Santiago, Chile, in December 2013.
In December 2016, the Dominican Republic voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution promoting implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[3]
The Dominican Republic has also voted in favor of UNGA resolutions expressing outrage at the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in December 2016.[4]
The Dominican Republic has yet to elaborate its views on certain important issues relating to interpretation and implementation of the convention, such as the prohibition on transit, the prohibition on assistance during joint military operations with states not party that may use cluster munitions, the prohibition on foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions, the prohibition on investment in production of cluster munitions, and the retention of cluster munitions for training and development purposes.
The Dominican Republic is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Use, transfer, production, and stockpiling
In 2008, the Dominican Republic stated that it “does not use, stockpile, produce, or have anything to do with cluster munitions.”[5] It must provide an initial transparency report for the convention to formally confirm its cluster munition-free status.
[1] The ratification bill was number 00249-2011-PLO-SE. Senate of the Dominican Republic Secretary-General, Order of the Day, No. 00032, 2 March 2011, AGENDA00032-PLO-02-03-2011-SE. See also CMC, Cluster Munition Monitor 2011 (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, October 2011), p. 207.
[2] For details on the Dominican Republic’s cluster munition policy and practice up to early 2010, see ICBL, Cluster Munition Monitor 2010 (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, October 2010), p. 144.
[3] “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 71/45, 5 December 2016. It voted in favor of a similar resolution in 2015. “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 70/54, 7 December 2015.
[4] “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution 71/203, 19 December 2016. The Dominican Republic voted in favor of similar resolutions on 18 December 2014 and 15 May and 18 December 2013.
[5] Statement of the Dominican Republic, Wellington Conference on Cluster Munitions, 22 February 2008. Notes by the CMC.
Mine Ban Policy
The Dominican Republic signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 30 June 2000, becoming a State Party on 1 December 2000. The Dominican Republic has never used, produced, imported, exported, or stockpiled antipersonnel mines, including for training purposes. The Dominican Republic has stated that it has not enacted domestic implementing legislation because it is not mine-affected and does not stockpile antipersonnel mines. The Dominican Republic submitted its fourth Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report on 10 March 2009, but has not provided subsequent annual reports.
The Dominican Republic did not attend any Mine Ban Treaty meetings in 2011 or the first half of 2012.
The Dominican Republic is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), including CCW Amended Protocol II on landmines and CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war, but has not provided national transparency reports for either protocol.