Ten-Year Review: Slovakia acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 24 July 2015 after implementing an action plan to join it. Since becoming a State Party, Slovakia has participated in every meeting of the convention, most recently in September 2019. Slovakia voted in favor of a key United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention in December 2019.

Slovakia is not known to have used cluster munitions, but produced and exported them in the past. Slovakia has reported a stockpile of 1,235 cluster munitions and 299,187 submunitions that it has committed to destroy by the end of 2023. Slovakia has destroyed 798 cluster munitions and 41,588 submunitions in total, including 155 cluster munitions and 8,190 submunitions in 2019. Slovakia retains five cluster munitions and 3,220 submunitions for research and training purposes.

Policy

The Slovak Republic acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 24 July 2015 and became a State Party on 1 January 2016.

Slovakia has not enacted specific national legislation to enforce implementation of the convention’s provisions, but lists the Penal Code and various arms trafficking laws under relevant national implementation measures.[1]

Slovakia submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report for the convention on 28 June 2016 and has provided annual updates since then, most recently in May 2020.[2]

Slovakia actively participated in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and joined the consensus adoption of the convention in Dublin in May 2008. However, it participated only as an observer at the convention’s signing conference in Oslo in December 2008.[3]

Slovakia acceded to the convention in July 2015, having implemented a decree in November 2008 that established a process to develop an action plan for its accession.[4] Implementation of the action plan resulted in the 26 June 2015 adoption by Slovakia’s parliament—the National Council—of a resolution approving accession to the convention.

Prior to acceding, Slovakia attended several meetings of the convention as an observer.[5] It participated in the First Review Conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia in September 2015 as a State Party. Slovakia has attended every meeting of the convention since then, most recently the Ninth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2019.

In December 2019, Slovakia voted in favor of a key UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution that called on states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.”[6] Slovakia has voted in favor of the annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015.

Slovakia has expressed deep concern at the reported use of cluster munitions in different parts of the world and has called on all actors to refrain from use.[7] Slovakia has voted in favor of UNGA and Human Rights Council resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in June 2020.[8]

Slovakia has not elaborated its views on certain important issues related to the convention’s interpretation and implementation, such as the prohibitions on transit, assistance during joint military operations with states not party that may use cluster munitions, foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions, and investment in production of cluster munitions.

Slovakia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Use

Before acceding to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Slovakia stated several times that it has never used cluster munitions.[9]

Production

In January 2014, Slovakia said it no longer produces cluster munitions and committed to no further production, having taking a decision in 2010 to no longer acquire cluster munitions following its adoption of the convention.[10]

Slovakia’s initial Article 7 transparency report, provided in June 2016, formally confirms that it no longer produces cluster munitions, stating that ZVS Holding Company of Dubncia and Vahom retired the production line in 2010.[11] The company manufactured two types of ground-fired cluster munitions.[12] Cluster Munition Monitor previously listed another Slovakian company as producing cluster munitions in the past.[13]

Transfers

Slovakia exported cluster munitions until February 2010 and had imported them in the past. ZVS Holding produced 8,680 122mm AGAT rockets for sale to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1998–2010, while 602 cluster munitions we produced for Slovakia’s Ministry of Defense in 1998–2001.[14]

In the past, Slovakia imported M26 cluster munition rockets from Germany.[15]

Stockpiling

Slovakia once possessed a stockpile of 1,235 cluster munitions and 299,187 submunitions, as shown in the following table. All cluster munitions have been withdrawn from operational stocks.

Cluster munitions once stockpiled by Slovakia[16]

Note: DPICM=Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition.

Stockpile destruction

Under Article 3 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Slovakia is required to destroy all stockpiled cluster munitions under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but no later than 1 January 2024.

Slovakia has committed to destroy the stockpile within the given timeframe “using its own capacities.”[17]

By the end of 2019, Slovakia had destroyed a total of 798 cluster munitions and 41,588 submunitions, which represents 65% of its total declared cluster munitions and 14% of declared submunitions.

Cluster munitions destroyed by Slovakia

Note: * Before entry into force of the convention for Slovakia.

Slovakia destroyed 163 cluster munitions and 11,666 submunitions before the convention’s entry into force for the country on 1 January 2016. Another 635 cluster munitions and 29,922 submunitions have been destroyed since then, including 155 cluster munitions and 8,190 submunitions in 2019.

Cluster munitions destroyed by Slovakia in 2019[18]

Slovakia is destroying its stockpile by open detonation at the Novarky training area and Kuchyna firing range. In May 2020, Slovakia provided a year-by-year schedule for its planned destruction of the remaining stocks in 2020–2023.[19]

In 2017, Slovakia estimated the total cost to destroy its stockpiled cluster munitions at €100,000 (US$113,000). Of this amount, €30,000 ($34,000) is to develop and test destruction techniques, while €70,000 ($79,000) is required to destroy the stockpile.[20]

Retention

Slovakia has retained five M26 rockets and 3,220 M77 Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (DPICM) submunitions for the development of stockpile destruction techniques at the Zahorie Military Technical and Testing Institute. Initially, in 2015, Slovakia told States Parties that “we plan to destroy all our stockpiles.”[21]

In June 2016, it reported that one M26 rocket was destroyed in the course of developing “render safe procedures and testing of the environmental impact of destruction.”[22] Slovakia has not consumed any cluster munitions for research purposes since then.