Yemen

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Last updated: 23 November 2020

Ten-Year Review: Non-signatory Yemen has expressed support for the goal of banning cluster munitions, but has not taken any steps to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Yemen has participated in several meetings of the convention, but not since 2016. However, Yemen voted in favor of a key United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention in December 2019.

Yemen is not known to have produced or exported cluster munitions, but has acquired them and may still possess a stockpile. Yemeni forces apparently used cluster munitions in 2009, while a Saudi Arabia-led military operation against Ansar Allah (Houthi) forces in Yemen used cluster munitions in 2015–2017 and subsequent attacks have likely gone unrecorded.

Policy

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

Yemen has supported the call to ban cluster munitions, but has not taken any steps to accede to the convention.[1]

Yemen participated in two meetings of the Oslo Process that created the convention (in Lima in May 2007, and Belgrade in October 2007) and has expressed its support for work to prohibit cluster munitions.[2] Yemen did not attend the negotiations of the convention in Dublin in May 2008 or the Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference in Oslo in December 2008.[3]

Yemen has participated as an observer in the convention’s meetings, but not since September 2016.[4] Yemen was invited, but did not attend, the Ninth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2019.

In December 2019, Yemen 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] It has voted in favor of the annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention since 2017.[6]

Yemen has also voted in favor of UNGA resolutions expressing outrage at the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in December 2019.[7]

Yemen is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Yemen is not known to have produced or exported cluster munitions.

Yemen has acquired cluster munitions and may still possess stocks. Jane’s Information Group reported in 2004 that KMGU dispensers that deploy submunitions were in service with the Yemeni Air Force.[8] Moldova exported 13 220mm Uragan multi-barrel rocket launch systems to Yemen in 1994, and Yemen possesses Grad 122mm surface-to-surface rocket launchers, but it is not known if the ammunition for these weapons includes versions with submunition payloads.[9]

Use

Yemen has not commented or responded to requests to confirm whether its forces have used cluster munitions. Yemen’s Soviet-supplied aircraft are capable of delivering Soviet-made RBK cluster bombs, which have been cleared and destroyed by mine clearance operators. In 2013, the Houthi administration in Saada governorate shared photographs with VICE News that show the remnants of RBK-250-275 cluster bombs and AO-1SCh submunitions.[10]

Previous use by others

A Saudi Arabia-led coalition conducting a military operation in Yemen against Ansar Allah forces, known as the Houthi armed group, used air- and ground-delivered cluster munitions in 2015–2017, and additional cluster munition attacks may have gone unrecorded (see below).[11] Cluster Munition Monitor has found no compelling evidence that the Saudi coalition has used cluster munitions in Yemen since then; including in 2019 or the first half of 2020. Neither Human Rights Watch (HRW) nor Mwatana, a Yemeni non-government organization (NGO), were aware of any use of cluster munitions during the period.[12]

There was one allegation of cluster munition use in the reporting period. In June 2020, Yemen’s Ministry of Human Rights condemned the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition for allegedly using cluster bombs in Sana’a governorate, seriously injuring members of a family.[13] On the basis of the available information, Cluster Munition Monitor has not been able to conclusively determine whether cluster munitions were used and who was responsible for the attack.

Previously, in 2015–2017, there were at least 23 cluster munition attacks by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen, using seven types of air-delivered and ground-launched cluster munitions manufactured and exported by three countries.

Cluster munition attacks in Yemen (April 2015 to February 2017)[14]

Type of cluster munition	Country of origin	Stocks possessed by	Governorate and date of attack
Air-delivered
CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon, each deploying 10 BLU-108 canisters that disperse four submunitions called “skeet” by the manufacturer Textron	US	Saudi Arabia, UAE	Al-Shaaf in Saada, 17 April 2015 Al-Amar in Saada, 27 April 2015 Harf Sofian in Amran, 29 June 2015 Sanhan in Sanaa, 1 November 2015 Al-Hayma in Hodaida, 12 December 2015 Amran in Sanaa, 15 February 2016 Al-Hayma in Hodaida, 5 October 2016
CBU-87 bomb, each containing 202 BLU-97 submunitions	US	Saudi Arabia	Al-Nushoor in Saada, 23 May 2015 Al-Maqash in Saada, 23 May 2015
CBU-58 bomb, each containing 650 BLU-63 submunitions	US	Morocco, Saudi Arabia	Sanaa City, 6 January 2016
BL755 cluster bomb, each containing 147 No. 2 Mk 1 submunitions	UK	Saudi Arabia	Al-Khadhra in Hajja, 6 January 2016
Ground-launched
ASTROS II rocket, each containing up to 65 submunitions	Brazil	Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia	Ahma in Saada, 25 October 2015 Sadaa City, 6 December 2016 Sadaa City, 15 February 2017 Qahza in Saada, 22 February 2017
M26 rocket, each containing 644 M77 Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (DPICM) submunitions	US	Bahrain, Egypt, UAE	Bani Kaladah in Hajja, April/May 2015 Al-Hazan in Hajja, May/June 2015 Malus in Hajja, 7 June 2015 Dughayj in Hajja, Jue/July 2015 Al-Qufl in Hajja, 14/15 July 2015 Haradh in Hajja, 25 July 2015 Al-Fajj in Hajja, 25 July 2015
“ZP-39” DPICM submunition (unknown delivery system)	Unknown	Unknown	Baqim in Saada, 29 April 2015

Note: US=United States; UAE=United Arab Emirates.

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition used CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapons in several attacks in 2015 and 2016.[15] Saudi Arabia admitted the coalition used CBU-105 once, in April 2015, but claimed that they were not prohibited weapons.[16] The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has denied using the CBU-105 in Yemen.[17]

The United States (US) suspended its cluster munition transfers to Saudi Arabia in May 2016, following reports of civilian harm in Yemen.[18] CBU-105 manufacturer Textron Systems announced in August 2016 that it was stopping its production of the weapons.[19] The move has effectively ended US production of cluster munitions, as Textron Systems was the last US company to produce them.

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition also used BL755 cluster munitions in Yemen, which marked the first recorded use of United Kingdom (UK)-made cluster munitions since the Convention on Cluster Munitions, to which the UK is a State Party, took effect in 2010.[20] The last UK transfers of BL755 cluster munitions to Saudi Arabia occurred in 1989.[21] Saudi Arabia committed to stop using BL755 cluster munitions in December 2016.[22]

In September 2016, States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions issued a joint declaration stating that they “condemn any use by any actor” and expressing deep concern at “any and all allegations, reports or documented evidence of the use of cluster munitions, most notably in Syria and Yemen in the past year.”[23] The European Parliament adopted a resolution in November 2017 condemning the Saudi Arabia-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen, including the use of cluster munitions.[24]

In a December 2016 statement, the Saudi coalition forces did not deny the use of cluster munitions in Yemen and argued that “international law does not ban their use.”[25]

Saudi Arabia and the US also used cluster munitions in separate attacks in Yemen in 2009:

The Royal Saudi Air Force conducted air strikes and Saudi armed forces intervened on the ground in late 2009 in Saada governorate after fighting between the government of Yemen and Houthi rebels intensified and spilled over the border with Saudi Arabia.[26] Remnants of CBU-52 cluster bombs were filmed near Saada city.[27]
On 17 December 2009, the US used at least five ship- or submarine-launched TLAM-D cruise missiles, each containing 166 BLU-97 submunitions, in an attack on al-Ma‘jalah in Yemen’s southern Abyan governorate that killed 55 people, including 41 civilians.[28] Neither the US nor the Yemeni government has publicly denied the cluster munition use.[29] The government of Yemen accepted a 2010 Yemeni parliament report on the attack, but never implemented the recommendations to clear the contaminated area or provide compensation.[30]

[1] Previously, in May 2016, a representative of Yemen said the government was considering accession following new contamination from cluster munitions used by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition since March 2015. Statement of Yemen, Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings, Geneva, 19 May 2016. Notes by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

[2] Statement of Yemen, Lima Conference on Cluster Munitions, Session on Victim Assistance, Lima, 23 May 2008. Notes by Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

[3] For details on Yemen’s cluster munition policy and practice up to early 2009, see HRW and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), p. 262.

[4] Yemen participated in the convention’s Meetings of States Parties in 2011, 2013–2014, and 2016, as well as the First Review Conference in 2015.

[5] “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 74/62, 12 December 2019.

[6] Yemen initially abstained from voting on the annual UNGA Convention on Cluster Munitions resolution in 2015 and 2016.

[7] “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution 74/169, 18 December 2019. Yemen voted in favor of similar resolutions related to Syria in 2013–2018.

[8] Robert Hewson, ed., Jane’s Air Launched Weapons, Issue 44 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, 2004), p. 848.

[9] Submission of Moldova, UN Register of Conventional Arms, Report for Calendar Year 1994, 28 April 1995; International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2011 (London: Routledge, 2011), p. 335; and Colin King, ed., Jane’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal 2008, CD-edition (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, 2008).

[10] Emails from Ben Anderson, Correspondent and Producer, VICE News, May 2014.

[11] None of the states participating in the Saudi Arabia-led coalition—Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—are party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

[12] Email from Kristine Beckerle, Research Director, Mwatana, August 2020.

[13] “Yemen Denounces Saudi-Led Coalition’s Use of Cluster Bombs in Sana’a,” Tasmin News Agency, 11 June 2020.

[14] HRW could not determine who used ground-launched cluster munitions containing “ZP-39” submunitions in Saada in April 2015, but Saudi Arabia and Houthi forces both possess rocket launchers and tube artillery capable of delivering them.

[15] “Yemen: The Saudi-American aircraft dropped parachute bombs internationally prohibited,” YouTube.com, 17 April 2015 (title translated from Arabic by the Monitor; video no longer available); Al-Rodaini, Fatik (Fatikr), “Types of bombs being parchuted [sic] by Saudi warplanes in Saada N #Yemen”. 27 April 2015, 08:50 UTC. Tweet. Another attack was recorded in a subsequent visit by HRW researchers to al-Amar village, 30km south of Saada city. HRW confirmed a cluster munition attack on 27 April, and reported the presence of explosive remnants. HRW, “Yemen: Saudi-led Airstrikes Used Cluster Munitions,” 3 May 2015.

[16] Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri informed CNN on 4 May 2015 that Saudi Arabia had used CBU-105 cluster bombs in Yemen against armored vehicles only, describing it as an “antivehicle weapon” and stating, “We do not use it against persons. We don’t have any operation in the cities.” Ben Brumfield and Slma Shelbayah, “Report: Saudi Arabia used U.S.-supplied cluster bombs in Yemen,” CNN, 4 May 2015. Asiri also acknowledged to The Financial Times that Saudi forces had used a US-made weapon that engages targets such as armored vehicles and is “equipped with self-destruct and self-deactivation features” but did not call it a cluster munition and argued it was being used to target vehicles and not people. “Saudi Arabia accused of using cluster bombs in Yemen airstrikes,” The Financial Times, 3 May 2015. Asiri told Bloomberg that the categorization of the cluster munitions as banned “isn’t correct.” Glen Carey, “Saudis deny sending troops to Yemen, reject cluster-bomb report,” Bloomberg, 3 May 2015. Asiri further informed CNN on 11 January 2016 that Saudi Arabia had used cluster munitions against concentrated rebel camps and armored vehicles, but never against civilian populations. Zachary Cohen, “Rights group: Saudi Arabia used US cluster bombs on civilians,” CNN, 29 February 2016.

[17] A diplomatic representative of the UAE told the CMC that it is not using CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapons because they are banned by the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. Interview with UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs Representative, in Geneva, 12 April 2016.

[18] According to an article in Foreign Policy, a senior US official said the administration acknowledges reports that the weapons had been used “in areas in which civilians are alleged to have been present or in the vicinity” and added, “We take such concerns seriously and are seeking additional information.” John Hudson, “White House blocks transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia,” Foreign Policy, 27 May 2016; and HRW, “US: Stop Providing Cluster Munitions,” 2 June 2016. HRW collected evidence showing CBU-105s were used in or near civilian areas in apparent violation of US export laws. A woman and two children were injured in their homes by a CBU-105 attack on 12 December 2015 in the port town of Hodaida, while at least two civilians were wounded in an attack near al-Amar village in Saada governorate on 27 April 2015. HRW also found at least three instances where CBU-105s malfunctioned as their “skeet” or submunitions did not separate from the BLU-108 canister and did not explode. HRW, “Yemen: Cluster Munitions Harm Civilians,” 31 May 2015; and HRW, “Yemen: Saudis Using US Cluster Munitions,” 6 May 2016.

[19] “Last US cluster-bomb maker to cease production,” AFP, 1 September 2016.

[20] Amnesty International press release, “Children among civilians killed and maimed in cluster bomb minefields in Yemen,” 22 May 2016; and Amnesty International, “Yemen: Evidence counters UK claims about the use of British-made cluster munitions in Yemen,” 6 June 2016.

[21] Patrick Wintour, “MoD to investigate claims Saudis used UK cluster bombs in Yemen,” The Guardian, 24 May 2016.

[22] Rowena Mason and Ewen MacAskill, “Saudi Arabia admits it used UK-made cluster bombs in Yemen,” The Guardian, 19 December 2016.

[23] See the political declaration annexed to the “Final report of the Convention on Cluster Munitions Sixth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 5–7 September 2016,” CCM/MSP/2016/9, 30 September 2016.

[24] European Parliament, “Resolution on the situation in Yemen,” 30 November 2017. The European Parliament adopted similar resolutions in 2015–2017 condemning the coalition’s use of cluster munitions in Yemen. A similar resolution adopted in October 2018 did not include reference to use of cluster munitions by the Saudi-led coalition.

[25] “International law does not ban the use of cluster munitions. Some States have undertaken a commitment to refrain from using cluster munitions by becoming party to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. Neither the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia nor its Coalition partners are State Parties to the 2008 Convention, and accordingly, the Coalition’s use of cluster munitions does not violate the obligations of these States under international law.” See, “Coalition Forces supporting legitimacy in Yemen confirm that all Coalition countries aren't members to the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” Saudi Press Agency, 19 December 2016.

[26] In July 2013, the Monitor reviewed photographs taken by clearance operators in Saada governorate showing the remnants of unexploded BLU-97 and BLU-61 submunitions as well as DPICM submunitions of an unknown origin. Interview with Abdul Raqeeb Fare, Deputy Director, Yemen Executive Mine Action Center (YEMAC), Sanaa, 7 March 2013; interview with Ali al-Kadri, Director, YEMAC, in Geneva, 28 May 2013; and email from John Dingley, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Yemen, 9 July 2013.

[27] “VICE on HBO Debriefs: Crude Awakening & Enemy of My Enemy,” TV news report, HBO Television Network, 19 May 2014; and Ben Anderson and Peter Salisbury, “US Cluster Bombs Keep Killing Civilians in Yemen,” VICE News, 16 May 2014. See also, “Saudi Arabia used cluster bombs against Houthi Shiites,” AhlulBayt News Agency, 19 May 2014.

[28] Amnesty International published a series of photographs showing the remnants of the cruise missile, including the propulsion system, a BLU-97 submunition, and the payload ejection system, the latter of which is unique to the TLAM-D cruise missile. See also, “U.S. missiles killed civilians in Yemen, rights group says,” CNN, 7 June 2010.

[29] In December 2010, Wikileaks released a US Department of State cable dated 21 December 2009 that acknowledged the US had a role in the 17 December attack. The cable stated that Yemeni government officials “continue to publicly maintain that the operation was conducted entirely by its forces, acknowledging U.S. support strictly in terms of intelligence sharing. Deputy Prime Minister Rashad al-Alimi told the Ambassador on December 20 that any evidence of greater U.S. involvement such as fragments of U.S. munitions found at the sites - could be explained away as equipment purchased from the U.S.” See, “ROYG [Republic of Yemen Government] looks ahead following CT operations, but perhaps not far enough,” US Department of State cable SANAA 02230 dated 21 December 2009, released by Wikileaks on 4 December 2010.

[30] The report also called on the Yemeni authorities to compensate victims and clear cluster munition remnants from the attack site. Republic of Yemen, “Special Parliamentarian Investigating Committee Report On Security Events in the Province of Abyan,” pp. 21–22 (in English), p. 16 (in Arabic), cited in HRW, “Between a Drone and Al-Qaeda,” 22 October 2013.