Ten-Year Review: The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives deposited the country’s accession to the convention at the United Nations (UN) on 27 September 2019. The convention entered into force for the Maldives on 1 March 2020. Before joining, the Maldives participated in a meeting of the convention in September 2019 and voted in favor of a key UN resolution promoting the convention in December 2019.

In its initial transparency report for the convention provided in August 2020, the Maldives formally confirmed that it has never used, produced, or stockpiled cluster munitions.

Policy

The Republic of Maldives acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 27 September 2019 and became a State Party on 1 March 2020.

The Maldives did not indicate if it will enact national implementation in its initial Article 7 transparency report for the convention, provided on 28 August 2020.[1]

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

Before the Maldives joined, its officials expressed interest in the convention.[2] The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, Abdulla Shahid, tweeted that he was “proud” to hand the instrument of accession over to the UN during the opening of the General Assembly in New York.[3] He pledged, “We will support global efforts to ban the use of this horrible weapon, which leaves a lasting legacy of untold human suffering for innocent civilians.” With the accession, the Maldives became the convention’s 107^th State Party.

The Maldives attended the convention’s Ninth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2019 as an observer, which marked its first participation in a meeting of the convention since 2010.[4]

The Maldives voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution urging states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible” in December 2019.[5] It has voted in favor of the annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015.

The Maldives has also voted in favor of UNGA resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in December 2019.[6]

The Maldives has not elaborated its views on certain important issues relating to the convention’s interpretation and implementation, including Article 21 on relations with states not party to the convention and the prohibitions on transit, foreign stockpiling, and investment in production.

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

In its initial transparency report for the convention, the Maldives formally confirmed that it has never produced cluster munitions and does not possess any stockpiles, including for training and research purposes.[7]

The Maldives has never used cluster munitions.

Policy

The Republic of Maldives signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 1 October 1998 and ratified it on 7 September 2000, becoming a State Party on 1 March 2001. Maldives has not enacted new legislation specifically to implement the Mine Ban Treaty.

Maldives has not attended a meeting of the treaty in the past decade. Maldives submitted its second Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report on 6 April 2006 but has not submitted subsequent reports.

Maldives is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and its Amended Protocol II on landmines but not Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. Maldives is party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Maldives has never used, produced, imported, exported, or stockpiled antipersonnel mines, including for training purposes.