Belgium

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Last updated: 04 September 2020

Ten-Year Review: State Party Belgium was among the first 30 countries to ratify the convention and trigger its entry into force on 1 August 2010. It was the first country to enact legislation to prohibit cluster munitions, in 2006. Belgium has participated in every meeting of the convention and has promoted its universalization. Belgium has condemned the use of cluster munitions in Syria and other conflicts. It has voted in favor of an annual United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention since 2015. Belgium has elaborated its views on several important issues for the interpretation and implementation of the convention.

Belgium is not known to have ever used or exported cluster munitions. In its initial transparency report for the convention provided in 2011, Belgium confirmed it produced and imported cluster munitions in the past. In 2010, Belgium completed the destruction of a stockpile of 115,210 cluster munitions and 10.1 million submunitions. It has retained 186 cluster munitions and 16,368 submunitions to be consumed for research and training purposes.

Policy

The Kingdom of Belgium signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified on 22 December 2009. It was among the first 30 countries to ratify and trigger the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010.

In June 2006, Belgium became the first country to enact legislation prohibiting the production, stockpiling, and trade of cluster munitions.[1] This and other legislation ensures its implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Belgium’s armed forces advise commanders on the application of the law of armed conflict, including the “obligations and restrictions” provided by the convention.[2]

Belgium submitted its initial Article 7 report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 27 January 2011. It has provided annual updated reports since then, most recently in April 2020.[3]

Belgium participated actively throughout the Oslo Process that produced the Convention on Cluster Munitions, hosting a regional conference on cluster munitions in October 2007.[4]

Belgium has participated in every meeting of the convention, most recently the Ninth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2019. Belgium attended the convention’s First Review Conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia in September 2015 and intersessional meetings in Geneva in 2011–2015.

Belgium has actively promoted the convention’s universalization. and has worked to keep the convention on the agenda of the European Union (EU) Council working group on disarmament (CODUN).[5] It has reported undertaking “specific bilateral demarches, sometime in cooperation with other interested embassies” to promote the convention.[6]

In December 2019, Belgium voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution that urges states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.”[7] It has voted in favor of the annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015.

Belgium has condemned new use of cluster munitions, including in Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen.[8] It first expressed concern over the use of cluster munitions in Syria in October 2012.[9] Belgium has voted in favor of UNGA resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in December 2019.[10] It has voted in favor of similar Human Rights Council resolutions expressing outrage at the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in September 2018.[11]

Belgium is party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Interpretive issues

Belgium has elaborated its views on a number of important issues relating to the interpretation and implementation of the convention.

Belgium has expressed its understanding that Article 21 of the convention, dealing with relations with states not party, prohibits States Parties from assisting others with use of cluster munitions during joint military operations. In a 2009 memorandum, Belgium stated, “In the case where a State Party engages in cooperation or military operations with States non-parties, a series of guaranties are provided: the cooperation or the military operation must be in conformity with international law; each State Party must notify non-states parties of its obligations under the Convention; it must promote the norms established by the Convention and discourage non-states parties from using cluster munitions. Similarly, paragraph 4 affirms the primacy of the fundamental obligations of the Convention, which cannot be derogated from, even in the framework of cooperative activities or military operations with States-non-party.”

Belgium has affirmed the importance of the positive obligations of Article 21 to promote the convention, noting “the emphasis is placed on the engagement of each State Party to encourage non-states parties to ratify, accede, approve or adhere to the Convention.”[12]

In 2009, Belgium stated that “States Parties, their military personnel or their residents can participate in military cooperation and operations with States not Parties, but they have by no means the permission to develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, transfer and use cluster munitions.”[13] In 2009, the Minister of Foreign Affairs told the Belgian Senate that “military cooperation with third countries is possible, particularly international military operations, but the responsibilities are clearly delineated. In the case of Belgium and for other signatories, the rule is that we will not use cluster munitions and we will not assist States with a view to use them.”[14]

In 2011, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation said that Belgium’s national law banning cluster munitions prohibits the granting of import, export, or transit licenses for such weapons.[15] In 2013, Belgium said its regions have “an exclusive competence to grant export, import and transit licenses” but cannot grant licenses for weapons prohibited by national law or by a treaty that has entered into force in Belgium.[16]

In 2011, Belgium’s Minister of Finance and Institutional Reforms stated that “the Belgian customs are not always aware of the exact content of the transport” in response to a parliamentary question about NATO transfers of military goods.[17] The minister stated that Belgium’s commitment to international agreements prohibiting certain weapons “cannot block compliance with our country’s obligations to NATO allies,” and said, “These laws apply only to the Belgian forces, not to armed forces of other NATO member countries, whose troops and military equipment move in accordance with NATO rules.”[18]

Regarding foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions on the national territory of States Parties, Belgium said in 2013 that “Following Article 1 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, State Parties undertake never under any circumstances to stockpile cluster munitions” and said that “according to Article 21 2.4b a State Party in its relations with a State not party is not allowed to itself stockpile cluster munitions.”[19]

NATO ally the United States (US) has communicated its interoperability concerns over the Convention on Cluster Munitions with Belgium.[20]

Belgium was the first country to ban investments in cluster munition producers when it enacted the Act Prohibiting the Finance of the Production, Use or Possession of Antipersonnel Mines and Submunitions in March 2007.[21]

Use, production, and transfer

Belgium is not known to have ever used or exported cluster munitions, but it produced, imported, and stockpiled them.

Belgium reported in 2011 that it “has no production facilities.”[22] Before 1990, the now defunct company Poudreries Réunies de Belgique (PRB) manufactured the NR 269 155mm artillery projectile containing dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) submunitions.[23] Mecar SA and Forges de Zeebrugge (FZ) also had cluster munitions under development.[24]

Stockpile destruction

Belgium completed the destruction of its stockpiled cluster munitions on 6 August 2010, destroying a total of 115,210 155mm M483A1 artillery projectiles and 10,138,480 M42/M46 DPICM submunitions. The stockpile was destroyed in Italy by Esplodenti Sabino under a NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) contract.[25]

In 2005, before adopting its ban law, Belgium destroyed a stockpile of 765 BL755 cluster bombs, each containing 147 submunitions, that it imported from the United Kingdom.[26]

Retention

Belgium reported in April 2020 that it has retained 186 munitions and 16,368 submunitions for research and training purposes.[27] Belgian has consumed 114 cluster munitions and 10,032 submunitions in EOD training and research since it first announced in 2011 that it would retain 300 artillery projectiles and 26,400 submunitions. It used 17 cluster munitions and 1,496 submunitions for training EOD personal during 2019.[28] Previously, Belgium estimated that it would need to consume as many as 40 cluster munitions per year for such activities.[29]



[1]Loi réglant des activités économiques et individuelles avec des armes” (“Law regulating economic activities and individuals with weapons”), Belgisch Staatsblad/Moniteur Belge, 9 June 2006. The law, which bans the production, stockpiling, and trade of cluster munitions, took effect on 9 June 2006 with an additional amendment requiring that “within three years after the publication of the law, the State and public administrations destroy the existing stock of submunitions or devices of similar nature.” For more information, see Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), p. 39; and Handicap International Belgium (HI-B), “The Belgian Campaign to Ban Cluster Munitions, A Brief History,” version 28, June 2006.

[3] The initial report is for the period 2009­–2010, while each subsequent report covers the previous calendar year.

[4] For more details on Belgium’s cluster munition policy and practice through early 2009, see HRW and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 39–42.

[6] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Reports, Form J, 1 April 2015; 30 April 2014; and 30 April 2013.

[7]Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 74/62, 12 December 2019.

[8] Statement of Belgium, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 23 June 2015. Notes by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA).

[9] Department of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, “Minister Reynders on the use of cluster munitions in Syria,” 17 October 2012. The Minister stated that he was “especially disturbed by reports over the use of cluster munitions during air raids by the Syrian authorities.” He noted Belgium’s active support of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and called on the Syrian authorities “to not add to the already very deplorable conditions for the civilian population by using weapons that are contrary to a widely supported humanitarian standard.”

[10]Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution 74/169, 18 December 2019. Belgium voted in favor of similar resolutions in 2013–2018.

[11]The human rights situation in the Syrian Arab Republic,” Human Rights Council Resolution 39/15, 28 September 2018. Belgium voted in favor of similar resolutions in 2016–2018.

[12] This is contained in an explanatory memorandum to the decree approving the convention adopted by the Parliament of Brussels and to the draft law in the Senate. Parliament of Brussels, “Ontwerp van ordonnantie houd endeinstemming met het Verdrag inzake clustermunitie, gedaante Dublin op 30 mei 2008 en ondertekendte Oslo op 3 december 2008” (“Draft ordinance approving the Convention on Cluster Munitions, adopted in Dublin on 30 May 2008 and signed in Oslo on 3 December 2008”), 13 October 2009, Legislative document A-14/1-G.Z. 2009; and Belgian Senate, “Wetsontwerp houd endeinstemming met het Verdrag inzake clustermunitie, gedaante Dublin op 30 mei 2008 en ondertekendte Oslo op 3 december 2008” (“Bill approving the Convention on Cluster Munitions, adopted in Dublin on 30 May 2008 and signed in Oslo on 3 December 2008”), Legislative documents 4-1419/1-3, Session of 2008–2009, 15 September 2009.

[13] This is contained in an explanatory memorandum to the decree approving the convention adopted by the Parliament of Flanders. Parliament of Flanders, “Ontwerp van decreet houd endeinstemming met het Verdrag inzake clustermunitie, opgemaakt Dublin op 30 mei 2008 en ondertekendte Oslo op 3 december 2008” (“Draft decree approving the Convention on Cluster Munitions, adopted in Dublin on 30 May 2008 and signed in Oslo on 3 December 2008”), Legislative document Stuk 2250 (2008–2009)-Nr. 1, Session of 2008–2009, 30 April 2009.

[14] Belgian Senate, “Inleidendeuiteenzetting door de heer Yves Leterme, Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken, Wetsontwerp houd endeinstemming met het Verdraginzakeclustermunitie, gedaante Dublin op 30 mei 2008, Verslagnamens de commissie voor de buitenlands ebetrekkeningen en voor de landsverdediging uitgebracht door mevrouw de Bethune en de heer Mahoux” (“Opening address by Yves Leterme, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bill approving the Convention on Cluster Munitions, adopted in Dublin on May 30, 2008, Report on behalf of the Committee for Foreign Relations and Defense, presented by Mrs. de Bethune and Mr. Mahoux”), Legislative document 4-1419/2, Session of 2009–2010, 28 October 2009.

[15] According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Convention on Cluster Munitions definition “covers the notion of transfer as involving, in addition to the physical movement of cluster munitions into or from a national, the transfer of title to and control over cluster munitions,” and added, “In accordance to this definition, there has been no transfer registered [in] 2010.” Document provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, in email from Henri Vantiegham, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation to HI-B, 13 April 2011.

[16] Information provided by Marie-France André, Deputy Director, Department of Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, Department of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, in email to HI, 26 April 2013.

[17] Belgian Senate, Written question Nr. 5-3000 by Bert Anciaux, 24 August 2011, to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Institutional Reforms on “the transport of military goods by NATO,” answered on 21 September 2011.

[18] Belgian Senate, Written question Nr. 5-3000 by Bert Anciaux, 24 August 2011, to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Institutional Reforms on “the transport of military goods by NATO,” answered on 21 September 2011.

[19] Information provided by Marie-France André, Department of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, in email to HI, 26 April 2013.

[20] According to a US diplomatic cable made public by Wikileaks, on 2 December 2008 US officials discussed the Convention on Cluster Munitions with Werner Bauwens, Director of the Office of Non-Proliferation and Export Controls of the Department of Foreign Affairs. The cable states that “Bauwens insisted that the negotiation and signature of the CCM [Convention on Cluster Munitions] has had no actual negative effects on NATO...Interoperability will be no more affected, he said, than it was when the convention prohibiting anti-personnel mines was signed by a number of countries, including Belgium. He promised that if ever any issue of interoperability with NATO arises, the GOB [Government of Belgium] and NATO will find a way to deal with it. He said that use of cluster munitions by non-signatories is not a ‘Belgian matter,’ and Belgium could accept their use during a joint mission.” See “Belgium signs Convention on Cluster Munitions,” US Department of State cable 08BRUSSELS1828 dated 4 December 2008, released by Wikileaks on 1 September 2011.

[21] See House of Representatives, “Projet de loi: interdisant le financement de la fabrication, de l’utilisation ou de la détention de mines antipersonnel et de sous-munitions” (“Bill: Prohibiting the Finance of the Production, Use or Possession of Antipersonnel Mines and Submunitions”), Legislative document DOC 51 2833/002, Session of 2006–2007, 1 March 2007. For commentary on the Bill, see IKV Pax Christi and Netwerk Vlaanderen, Worldwide investments in Cluster Munitions; a shared responsibility (Utrecht, April 2010), pp. 107–108.

[22] The initial Article 7 report states “N/A” (for “not applicable”) under the section on status and progress of programs for conversion or decommissioning of production facilities, but the subsequent reports provide the declaration of “no production facilities.” Convention on Cluster Munition Article 7 Reports, Form E, 27 January 2011, and 30 April 2012.

[23] Terry J. Gander and Charles Q. Cutshaw, eds., Jane’s Ammunition Handbook 2001–2002 (Surrey, UK: Jane’s Information Group Limited, 2001), p. 353.

[24] See HRW and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), p. 41.

[26] The stockpile was destroyed by the German company Buck through NAMSA. Presentation by Lt.-Col Eric Carette, Department of Defense, “Training with submunitions…Belgian approach,” Berlin Conference on the Destruction of Cluster Munitions, 26 June 2009. See also House of Representatives, “Compte rendu intégral avec compte rendu analytique traduit des interventions, Commission de la défense nationale” (“Full Report with Summary Record of Translated Interventions, Committee of National Defense”), Legislative document CRIV 51 COM 616, Session of 2004–2005, 25 May 2005; and House of Representatives, “Schriftelijke vragen en antwoorden: Vraag nr. 7 van de heer Dirk Van der Maelen van 15 januari 2008 (N.) aan de minister van Landsverdediging: Vernietiging van stocks van clustermunitie; Antwoord van de minister van Landsverdediging van 15 februari 2008” (“Written questions and responses: Question No. 7 by Mr. Dirk Van der Maelen of 15 January 2008 to the Minister of Defense: Destruction of stocks of cluster munitions; and response of the Minister of Defense of 15 February 2008”), Legislative document QRVA 52 009 18-2-2008, Session of 2007–2008, 18 February 2008.

[28] Belgium consumed 17 cluster munitions and 1,496 submunition in 2019, 13 cluster munitions and 1,144 submunitions in 2018, 10 cluster munitions and 880 submunitions in 2017, zero cluster munitions or submunitions in 2014–2016, seven cluster munitions and 616 submunitions in 2013, 38 cluster munitions and 3,344 submunitions in 2012, five cluster munitions and 440 submunitions in 2011, and 24 cluster munitions and 2,112 submunitions in 2009–2010. See, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 20 April 2020; Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 30 April 2019; Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 30 April 2018; Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 30 April 2017; Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 30 April 2016; Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 30 April 2015; Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 30 April 2014; Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 30 April 2013; Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 30 April 2012; and Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, 27 January 2011.


Mine Ban Policy

Last updated: 12 November 2019

Policy

The Kingdom of Belgium signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 4 September 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 March 1999. Production of antipersonnel mines ceased in 1990 and was banned in 1995. Transfer was banned in 1993. In 1995, Belgium became the first country in the world to pass domestic legislation comprehensively banning antipersonnel mines, and subsequently amended this legislation to ensure full compliance with the Mine Ban Treaty.

Belgium has regularly served in leadership roles within the work of the convention, most recently serving as chair of the Committee on Victim Assistance in 2017–2019.[1] Previously, Belgium served as co-rapporteur and then co-chair of the Standing Committees on the General Status and Operation of the Convention (1999–2001; 2004–2006; 2013–2014), Mine Clearance (2001–2003), and Victim Assistance (2007–2009; 2014).

Belgium initiated and continued to coordinate the Article 7 Contact Group in 2011 and 2012. Since June 2011, Belgium also served as coordinator of the Universalization Contact Group, taking over from Canada.

In December 2018, Belgium voted in favor of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 73/61 which encourages universalization of the convention, as it has on all previous similar resolutions.[2]

At the Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties in November 2018, Belgium reaffirmed its commitment to a mine-free world by 2025, and condemned new use of antipersonnel mines, particularly in Syria. It also stated disappointment that Ukraine had failed to comply with the extension request parameters outlined in the convention, and encouraged Ukraine to maintain compliance.[3] Belgium spoke extensively about the issues preventing more effective implementation of victim assistance provisions.[4] It also encouraged states to meet all financial contribution requirements, noting that the contributions are each state’s “testimony to commitment” to the convention.[5]

Belgium has attended all previous Meetings of States Parties. Ambassador Bertrand de Crombrugghe of Belgium served as president of the Fourteenth Meeting of States Parties in December 2015.[6] Belgium’s presidency of the meeting included addresses by Belgium’s Vice Prime Minister Didier Reynders and Princess Astrid. Previously, Belgium also served as president of the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in 2002. In 2011 and 2012, Belgian civil society continued its active support for the Mine Ban Treaty and strengthened its efforts on implementation, in particular with regards to victim assistance, disinvestment, funding, and transit of illegal weapons.[7]

Belgium is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and its Amended Protocol II on landmines and Protocol V on explosive remnants of war.

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Belgium destroyed its stockpile of approximately 433,441 antipersonnel mines in September 1997.[8] By the end of 2018, Belgium retained 2,066 antipersonnel mines for training.[9]

Belgium has no known mined areas, though mines and unexploded ordnance from World War I and World War II are still found occasionally.

Production of antipersonnel mines ceased in 1990 and was banned in 1995.[10] Transfer was banned in 1993. The company Poudres Réunies de Belgique (PRB) was a major producer and exporter of mines, including six types of antipersonnel mine and nine types of antivehicle mine. Production facilities were demilitarized in 1990, and PRB was declared bankrupt in 1993.[11]



[1] Belgium has previously served on the Standing Committees on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Mine Clearance, and Victim Assistance.

[3] Statement of Belgium, Mine Ban Treaty Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 27 November 2019.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid., 30 November 2019.

[6] Belgium also served as president of the Fourth Meeting of States Parties.

[7] See for example Humanity & Inclusion (formerly Handicap International) Belgium’s website; and FairFin’s (formerly Netwerk Vlaanderen) website; together with Dutch NGO PAX’s (formerly IKV Pax Christi) website. A number of other Belgian NGOs continue to be active in support of the Mine Ban Treaty.

[8] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 30 April 2010.

[9] Ibid., 30 April 2019.

[10] “Belgium’s Position regarding Action against Anti-personnel mines,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 2000, p. 1.

[11] The types of antipersonnel mine produced were: NR409/PRB M409, PRB BAC H-28, PRB M35, NR 413, PRB M966, and NR 442. Belgian antipersonnel mines have been found in at least eight countries: Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, and Zambia. See, Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 541–543.


Support for Mine Action

Last updated: 17 November 2022

In 2021, the Kingdom of Belgium contributed approximately €3 million (US$3.5 million) in mine action funding to three countries, as well as to global activities carried out by the Mine Ban Treaty Implementation Support Unit (ISU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on improvised explosive device (IED) threat mitigation.[1] Belgium’s mine action funding in 2021 decreased by 21% compared to the previous year.

Between 2018 and 2020, Belgium provided funding for victim assistance activities implemented by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). No such contribution was reported for 2021.

Contributions by recipient: 2021[2]

Recipient

Sector

Amount (€)

Amount (US$)

Iraq

Clearance and risk education

1,500,000

1,774,500

Syria

Various (clearance, coordination, risk education, and victim assistance)

500,000

591,500

Global

Various

500,000

591,500

Angola

Clearance

490,000

579,670

Total

N/A

2,990,000

3,537,170

Note: N/A=not applicable.

 

Mine action assistance approach

A 2021 document outlining Belgium’s approach to mine action lists five cross-cutting aspects to determine funding allocations: humanitarian needs and impact assessment; adherence to relevant international frameworks by the potential recipient of assistance; national ownership; integration of mine action into broader humanitarian, peace-building, and sustainable development approaches; and convergence with Belgium’s international and development priorities.[3]

Five-year support to mine action

In 2017–2021, Belgium’s funding to mine action totaled more than €14 million ($16.5 million). This is similar to the €13.2 million ($16.6 million) contributed during the previous five-year period, from 2012–2016. ­

Summary of contributions: 2017–2021[4]

Year

Amount (€)

Amount (US$)

% change from previous year (US$)

2021

2,990,000

3,537,170

-21%

2020

3,936,653

4,491,721

+5%

2019

3,815,161

4,270,692

+30

2018

2,790,000

3,296,943

+270

2017

788,330

890,892

-69

Total

14,320,144

16,487,418

N/A

Note: N/A=not applicable.



[1] Average exchange rate for 2021: €1=US$1.1830. United States (US) Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2022.

[2] Belgium Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form J. See, Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Database; and email from Sigurd Schelstraete, Director, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, Belgium Federal Public Service, Foreign Affairs, 23 September 2022.

[3] Kingdom of Belgium, Federal Public Service, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, “Belgian Approach to Mine Action,” 2021.

[4] See previous Monitor reports.