Vanuatu
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
Ten-Year Review: Non-signatory Vanuatu adopted the convention in 2008, but never signed it. In April 2020, Vanuatu indicated that its accession to the convention was under active consideration. Vanuatu attended a meeting of the convention for the first time in September 2019 and voted in favor of a key United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention in December 2019.
Vanuatu has stated that it does not use, produce, stockpile, or transfer cluster munitions.
Policy
The Republic of Vanuatu has not yet acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
In April 2020, an official from Vanuatu’s Department of Foreign Affairs told the Monitor that a Cabinet paper recommending Vanuatu’s accession to the convention would be shared with the Council of Ministers of the newly elected government.[1] If approved, the accession proposal would then be presented to parliament for approval.
Vanuatu initiated a process to accede to the convention after its representatives attended a regional conference in New Zealand in February 2018, which issued a declaration acknowledging “the clear moral and humanitarian rationale for joining” the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[2] Previously, Vanuatu’s Council of Ministers considered a proposal in 2011 to accede to the convention, but the accession was never completed.[3]
During the Oslo Process that created the convention, Vanuatu participated in the Wellington Conference on Cluster Munitions in February 2008 and endorsed the Wellington Declaration supporting the conclusion of an instrument prohibiting cluster munitions. Vanuatu also joined in the consensus adoption of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Dublin in May 2008 but did not attend the Signing Conference in Oslo in December 2008.
Vanuatu attended a meeting of the convention for the first time in September 2019, when it participated as an observer at the Ninth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva. It did not make a statement to the meeting. Vanuatu has also attended regional meetings on cluster munitions, most recently in the Philippines in June 2019.[4]
In December 2019, Vanuatu voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution urging states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.”[5] Vanuatu has voted in favor of the annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention since 2016.
Vanuatu has also voted in favor of UNGA resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in December 2019.[6]
Vanuatu is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling
Vanuatu stated in 2011 that it “does not use, produce, stockpile or transfer cluster munitions.”[7]
[1] Email from Majorie Wells, Desk Officer, Treaties and Conventions Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and External Trade, 27 April 2020.
[2] “Auckland Declaration on Conventional Weapons Treaties,” Pacific Conference on Conventional Weapons Treaties, Auckland, New Zealand, 12–14 February 2018. Afterwards, Vanuatu’s Department of Foreign Affairs and its International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Committee began to prepare for the country’s accession to the convention. Consultations were due to start in September 2019, after which a Cabinet paper would be provided to the Council of Ministers for its approval. Email from Majorie Wells, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and External Trade, 24 July 2019.
[3] In 2011, the director-general of Vanuatu’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Monitor that the Council of Ministers was reviewing a policy paper on the convention. Letter from Jean Sese, Director-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Mary Wareham, Senior Advisor, Human Rights Watch (HRW), 6 April 2011. Another representative said that relevant authorities were holding stakeholder consultations on the convention. Interview with Roline Tekon, Director, Treaties and Conventions Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in New York, 14 July 2011.
[4] “Final Report of the Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” Manila, the Philippines, 18–19 June 2019. Vanuatu previously attended a regional meeting on conventional weapons in Auckland, New Zealand in February 2018.
[5] “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 74/62, 12 December 2019.
[6] “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution 74/169, 18 December 2019. Vanuatu voted in favor of similar resolutions in 2013–2018.
[7] Letter from Jean Sese, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Mary Wareham, Human Rights Watch, 6 April 2011.
Mine Ban Policy
Policy
The Republic of Vanuatu signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified it on 16 September 2005, becoming a State Party on 1 March 2006. It has not enacted new legislation specifically to implement the Mine Ban Treaty.
Vanuatu has not attended any recent meetings of the treaty. It did not attend the Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014. Vanuatu submitted its second Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report on 30 April 2008 but has not submitted subsequent annual reports.
Vanuatu is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons, nor is it party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Use, production, transfer, and stockpile
Vanuatu has never used, produced, exported, or imported antipersonnel mines, including for training purposes. Vanuatu is affected by unexploded ordnance from World War II.