Sri Lanka
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
Summary: Sri Lanka acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 1 March 2018 and became a State Party on 1 September 2018. Sri Lanka has participated in the convention’s meetings and is president of the Ninth Meeting of States Parties in September 2018. It voted in favor of a key United Nations (UN) resolution on the convention in December 2018.
Sri Lanka stated in its initial transparency report that it has never produced cluster munitions and possesses no stockpile.
Policy
The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 1 March 2018 and it entered into force for the country on 1 September 2018
In February 2019, Sri Lanka reported that it is studying if new legislation is needed to enforce its implementation of the convention’s provisions. [1]
Sri Lanka submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 26 February 2019. [2]
Sri Lanka participated in one meeting of the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions, in Vienna in December 2007. It attended a regional meeting on cluster munitions in Bali, Indonesia in November 2009.
Sri Lanka participated as an observer in the convention’s meetings, prior to its accession. [3] It participated as a State Party in the convention’s Eighth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2018, made a statement on universalization, and was named president of the convention’s Ninth Meeting of States Parties. [4]
Sri Lanka has participated in a number of regional workshops on the convention, for example, in Vientiane, Lao PDR in April 2019. [5] Sri Lanka spoke about its experience acceding to the convention during a regional workshop on the convention in Manila, Philippines on 18–19 June 2019. [6]
In December 2018, Sri Lanka voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution, which urges states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.” [7] It has voted in favor of the UNGA resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015.
Sri Lanka has voted in favor of UNGA resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in December 2018. [8]
Sri Lanka acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 13 December 2017. Sri Lanka is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Production, transfer, and stockpiling
In its initial Article 7 report submitted in February 2019, Sri Lanka indicated that it has no stockpile of cluster munitions or production facilities for the weapon and it is not retaining any. [9]
Use
In September 2018, Sri Lanka stated that it “has never used cluster munitions.” [10] Previously, Sri Lankan officials repeatedly stated that its armed forces did not possess cluster munitions and never used the weapon. [11]
Past allegations of use
Sri Lanka has emphatically denied claims that it used cluster munitions in 2008–2009 during the final months of its military operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the northern Vanni region. [12] In 2017, Sri Lanka commented to Cluster Munition Monitor that “With regard to the recent allegations of using ‘Cluster Munitions’ during the operations against LTTE terrorists, Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force re-iterated their earlier stand that they have never used Cluster Munitions” [13]
In 2016, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recommended that the government of Sri Lanka initiate an independent investigation into the alleged use of cluster munitions in past. [14]
The suggestion came after new evidence emerged in 2016 showing that since 2009, three mine clearance organizations have cleared cluster munition remnants, including unexploded submunitions, from at least six different sites in the north of the country. [15] Mine clearance organizations could not determine who used the cluster munitions or when, asserting that it “could have been any time within the last three decades.” [16]
The Sri Lankan Air Force possesses aircraft capable of delivering Soviet-made cluster munitions. A 2009 media article alleged that Sri Lankan forces used cluster munitions against the LTTE, while attacking Pudukkudyirippu Hospital. [17] The LTTE had light planes incapable of carrying them. The Indian Air Force possesses RBK-500 series cluster bombs and was involved in a military intervention against the LTTE in northern Sri Lanka in 1987–1990.
A 2011 report by a UN panel of experts on Sri Lanka noted the government’s denial and said that it was unable to reach a conclusion on the credibility of the allegation of use of cluster munitions by Sri Lanka. [18]
[1] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form A, 26 February 2019. It is a “nil” report, with the exception of Form A on national implementation measures.
[2] Article 7 Report, 26 February 2019.
[3] Sri Lanka has participated as an observer in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention since 2011 and attended the First Review Conference in 2015.
[4] Statement of Sri Lanka, Convention on Cluster Munitions Eighth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 3 September 2018.
[5] Regional Seminar on Landmines, Cluster Munitions and Explosive Remnants of War, Vientiane, Lao DPR, 29–30 April 2019. See, “Experts Discuss Landmine-related Risks At A Regional Seminar,” Lao News Agency, 2 May 2019.
[6] “Asia-Pacific Workshop on CCM Universalization,” Convention on Cluster Munitions Quarterly Newsletter, April 2019.
[7] “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 73/54, 5 December 2018.
[8] “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution 73/182, 17 December 2018.
[9] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Forms B, C, D & E, 26 February 2019.
[10] Statement of Sri Lanka, Convention on Cluster Munitions Eighth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 3 September 2018.
[11] Statement of Sri Lanka, Convention on Cluster Munitions First Review Conference, 9 September 2015. Notes by the Monitor. See also, Monitor meeting with Amb. Dr. Palitha T.B. Kohona, and Dilup Nanyakkara, Advisor, Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in New York, New York, 19 October 2010.
[12] See, HRW and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 242–243. In October 2009, Sri Lankan Army Commander Lt.-Gen. J. Jayasuriya stated, “Where the cluster munitions are concerned, I wish to categorically state that such inhumane weapons have never, and will never be used by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces.” Keynote address by Lt.-Gen. Jayasuriya, Sri Lankan Army, International Law on Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War Seminar, Colombo, 27 October 2009. The text of the address was included in, “Flow of arms to terrorists must stop,” Daily News, 28 October 2009.
[13] Email from Mafusa Lafir, Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva, to Mary Wareham, Arms Division, HRW, 26 May 2017.
[14] Paragraph 33 states: “In light of recent reports on new evidence that has emerged on the use of cluster munitions towards the end of the conflict, following similar allegations in the OHCHR investigation report, the High Commissioner calls for an independent and impartial investigation to be carried out.” OHCHR, “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka,” A/HRC/32/CRP.4, 28 June 2016, p. 8.
[15] The Guardian published photographs that show clearance operators preparing to destroy the remnants of an RBK-500 AO-2.5RT cluster bomb. It reported that HALO Trust cleared 42 cluster munitions—likely submunitions—from sites near Pachchilapalli, which saw fighting between government and LTTE forces at the end of the war. HALO said it reported the clearance at the time by submitting the records to the government-run mine action center. Emmanuel Stoakes, “Sri Lanka denies cluster bombs found in war zones were government weapons,” The Guardian, 26 June 2016. See also, Emmanuel Stoakes, “Cluster bombs used in Sri Lanka's civil war, leaked photos suggest,” The Guardian, 20 June 2016.
[16] Emmanuel Stoakes, “Sri Lanka denies cluster bombs found in war zones were government weapons,” The Guardian, 26 June 2016.
[17] “U.N. cites Sri Lanka cluster bomb use: The U.S., EU, Norway and Japan join in a plea to the Tamil Tiger rebels to end their failing separatist struggle and avoid more deaths,” Los Angeles Times, 4 February 2009. A UN spokesperson initially said the hospital was attacked with cluster munitions, but retracted the statement after further investigation. “UN accepts Sri Lanka has not used cluster bombs – website,” BBC Monitoring South Asia, 5 February 2009; and Walter Jayawardhana, “UN Spokesman Accepts Sri Lanka Never Had Cluster Bombs,” Ministry of Defence, 5 February 2009.
[18] Report of the Secretary General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka, 31 March 2011, p. 47 (Section G, paras. 168–169).