Bhutan
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
Summary: Non-signatory Bhutan has expressed support for the convention’s objectives but not taken any steps to join. Bhutan for the first time participated in a meeting of States Parties in September 2017 and voted in favor of a key UN resolution promoting the convention in December 2017. According to Bhutan, it does not possess cluster munitions. It is not known to have used, produced, or transferred these weapons.
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. Bhutan for the first time participated as an observer in a meeting of States Parties in September 2017. Bangladesh did not make any statement to the meeting, but its representative told the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) that an internal process is underway to prepare the country’s accession.[1] Previously, officials expressed support for the convention’s objectives but indicated Bhutan has limited resources available to undertake the accession process.[2]
Bhutan did not participate in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Bhutan has attended two meetings of the convention since 2015.[3]
In December 2017, Bhutan voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution that urges states outside the convention to “join as soon as possible.”[4] It voted in favor of previous annual UNGA resolutions promoting implementation and universalization of the convention in 2015 and 2016.
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 2010, a government representative said that, as a peaceful country, Bhutan does not possess any cluster munitions and has no plans to acquire them.[5]
[1] CMC campaign meeting with Tauchu Dukpa, Minister, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the UN, Geneva, 5 September 2017.
[2] In October 2010, Bhutan’s permanent representative to the UN in New York told the 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.
[3] Previously, its Geneva-based representative attended an intersessional meeting in June 2015 in Geneva. 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.
[4] “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 72/54, 4 December 2017.
[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.