Summary: Non-signatory the Maldives said in October 2017 that it is considering acceding to the convention. The Maldives voted in favor of a key United Nations (UN) resolution on the convention in December 2017. The Maldives is not known to have used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions.

Policy

The Republic of Maldives has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

In October 2017, a representative of the Maldives told the Monitor that the Office of the Attorney General is reviewing the convention, which is the first step in the process of accession. The official cautioned that the process of acceding would not be completed swiftly as it requires legislative approval.[1]

The Maldives did not participate in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

The Maldives participated as an observer in the convention’s First Meeting of States Parties in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010. This remains the only time it attended a meeting of the convention.

InDecember 2017, the Maldives voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution that urges states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.”[2] It voted in favor of previous UNGA resolutions promoting implementation and universalization of the convention in 2015 and 2016.[3]

The Maldives has voted in favor of UNGA and Human Rights Council (HRC) resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in December 2017.[4]

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

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

The Maldives is not known to have used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions.