Summary: Non-signatory Qatar has never commented on its position on joining the convention. However, it has participated as an observer in every meeting of the convention and has condemned the use of cluster munitions in Syria. Qatar abstained from voting on a key UN resolution on the convention in December 2016.

Qatar is not known to have used, produced, or exported cluster munitions. It imported cluster munitions and has a stockpile, but has not provided information on the number and types stockpiled.

Policy

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

Qatar has never made a public statement to express its views on cluster munitions or position on accession to the convention.[1]

In December 2016, Qatar abstained from voting on a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution that calls on states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.”[2] It abstained from the vote on the first UNGA resolution on the convention in December 2015.[3]

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.[4]

Qatar has participated as an observer in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention, including the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2016. It attended the First Review Conference in 2015 and an intersessional meeting in 2013. Qatar has not made any statements at these meetings.

In October 2012, Qatar said it was “appalled” that the Syrian government had “used advanced weapons and cluster munitions against its own people.”[5] Qatar has voted in favor of UNGA resolutions expressing outrage at the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in December 2016.[6] It has voted for Human Rights Council resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in March 2017.[7]

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

A Qatari official told the Monitor in September 2011 that Qatar has never used or exported cluster munitions.[8]

Qatar is not known to have produced cluster munitions, but it imported them. In 2013, a Ministry of Defense representative confirmed that Qatar possesses a stockpile of cluster munitions, which have been used in training.[9] Qatar has acquired ASTROS II rockets with cluster munition warheads from Brazil.[10]

Qatar participated in a Saudi Arabia-led coalition operation against Houthi forces (Ansar Allah) in Yemen from March 2015 until June 2017, when it left the coalition.[11] Qatar has not commented on the coalition’s use of cluster munitions in Yemen, such as the use of ASTROS cluster munition rockets, which Bahrain and Saudi Arabia also stockpile.[12]

Qatar has not commented publically, or responded to, Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) letters calling on it not to use cluster munitions in the Yemen operation.[13] In December 2016, the government-controlled Saudi Press Agency published a statement on behalf of the “Coalition Forces Supporting Legitimacy in Yemen” that stated:

“International law does not ban the use of cluster munitions. Some States have undertaken a commitment to refrain from using cluster munitions by becoming party to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. Neither the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia nor its Coalition partners are State Parties to the 2008 Convention, and accordingly, the Coalition’s use of cluster munitions does not violate the obligations of these States under international law.”[14]

Foreign stockpiling

The United States (US) Armed Forces have stored cluster munitions in Qatar according to a US diplomatic cable dated 26 November 2008 and released by Wikileaks in 2011. 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.”[15]