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Philippines
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions
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Convention on Cluster Munitions status |
Signatory |
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Participation in Convention on Cluster Munitions meetings |
Attended First Meeting of States Parties in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010 |
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Key developments |
Ratification process underway |
Policy
The Republic of the Philippines signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008.
In November 2010, the Philippines stated that its ratification process was “currently undergoing required national procedures.”[1] Various government agencies are believed to be discussing the ratification package before it is submitted for formal approval. No timetable is available for when ratification is likely to be completed.
Previously, in June 2010, the Philippines stated that it hoped to complete ratification by the First Meeting of States Parties in November 2010.[2]
The Philippines actively participated in the Oslo Process that created the convention and sought the most comprehensive convention possible.[3] The Philippines has continued to engage in the work of the convention. It participated in the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010, where it gave an update on ratification and expressed support for universalization of the Convention.[4] The Philippines did not attend the first intersessional meetings of the convention in Geneva in June 2011.
The Philippine Campaign Against Cluster Munitions is working for ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[5]
The Philippines is a party to the Mine Ban Treaty.
Interpretive issues
The Philippines has not yet made known its views on certain important issues related to interpretation and implementation of the convention, including the prohibition on transit, the prohibition on foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions, the prohibition on investment in production of cluster munitions, and the need for retention of cluster munitions and submunitions for training and development purposes.
On the prohibition on assistance, the Philippines has stated that it “has no intention to assist, encourage or induce any state, group or individual to engage in any of the prohibited activities.”[6]
Convention on Conventional Weapons
It is also a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but has not ratified CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. Jesus Ricardo S. “Gary” Domingo of the Philippines chaired the CCW Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on cluster munitions in 2010 and 2011, receiving praise for his unconventional (but to date unsuccessful) efforts to secure agreement.[7]
The Philippines did not make any CCW statements in its national capacity in 2010 and the first half of 2011 to express its views on the draft chair’s text under consideration.
Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling
The Philippines has stated several times that it has not used, produced, stockpiled, or supplied cluster munitions.[8] In November 2010, the Philippines said that, in compliance with the convention, its armed forces have a standing directive that cluster munitions cannot be included as operational requirements.[9]
[1] Statement of the Philippines, First Meeting of States Parties, Convention on Cluster Munitions, Vientiane, 10 November 2010. Notes by the CMC.
[2] Statement of the Philippines, International Conference on the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Santiago, 7 June 2010. Notes by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV)/Human Rights Watch.
[3] For detail on the Philippines’ policy and practice regarding cluster munitions through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 144–145.
[4] Statement of the Philippines, First Meeting of States Parties, Convention on Cluster Munitions, Vientiane, 10 November 2010. Notes by the CMC.
[5] The Philippine Campaign Against Cluster Munitions launched an information campaign in Manila, Quezon City to celebrate the 1 August 2010 entry into force of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and also met with the Department of National Defense to encourage swift ratification. See Philippine Campaign Against Cluster Munitions Press release, “No More Cluster Bombs,” 31 July 2010, pccm.posterous.com; and CMC, “Entry into force of the Convention on Cluster Munitions Report: 1 August 2010,” November 2010, p. 24.
[6] Letter from Leslie B. Gatan, Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the UN in New York, 2 March 2009. The Philippines reiterated this during the Regional Conference on the Promotion and Universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Bali, 17 November 2009. Notes by AOAV.
[7] During his tenure as chair, Domingo has used music as well as dance metaphors in an attempt to secure more engagement from states in the deliberations. Statement by Jesus Ricardo S. “Gary” Domingo, Minister, Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the UN in Geneva and Chair of the CCW GGE on Cluster Munitions, CCW Meeting of the High Contracting Parties, Geneva, 25 November 2010. Notes by AOAV.
[8] Letter from Leslie B. Gatan, Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the UN in New York, 2 March 2009. The Philippines reiterated this during the Regional Conference on the Promotion and Universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Bali, 17 November 2009. Notes by AOAV.
[9] Statement of the Philippines, First Meeting of States Parties, Convention on Cluster Munitions, Vientiane, 10 November 2010. Notes by the CMC.
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