Djibouti
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions
Convention on Cluster Munitions status |
Signatory |
Participation in Convention on Cluster Munitions meetings |
None in 2009 or 2010 through July |
Key developments |
Signed on 30 July 2010 |
Policy
The Republic of Djibouti signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 30 July 2010.
On several occasions in previous years, officials conveyed Djibouti’s intention to sign and said that joining the convention would not be problematic for Djibouti as it is not affected by cluster munitions and does not possess a stockpile. Officials emphasized the importance of the convention as a means to stigmatize cluster munitions in their region and noted the importance of its broad universalization.[1]
The ratification process will reportedly initiate with the Council of Ministers, and then pass to the Parliament.[2]
Djibouti did not attend any of the international or regional meetings on the convention in 2009 or 2010 through July.
Djibouti first attended an Oslo Process conference in Vienna in December 2007, where it made a statement in support of a legally-binding instrument on cluster munitions, noting in particular its support for provisions on victim assistance.[3] Djibouti endorsed the Wellington Declaration on 21 May 2008, enabling it to be a full participant in the diplomatic negotiations of the convention.
However, Djibouti did not attend the negotiations in Dublin in May 2008. At the Kampala Conference on the Convention on Cluster Munitions in September 2008, Djibouti announced its intention to sign and ratify the convention and endorsed the Kampala Action Plan, which called on states to sign and “take all necessary measures to ratify the convention as soon as possible.”[4]
The Minister of Defense was scheduled to sign the convention in Oslo in December 2008.[5] However, Djibouti did not ultimately attend the signing conference due to coordination issues related to the signature and authorization process.[6]
Djibouti is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but has yet to ratify its Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. Djibouti has not participated in CCW discussions on cluster munitions in 2009 or 2010 through July.
Djibouti has stated that it has not used, produced, or stockpiled cluster munitions.[7]
[1] Interview with Amb. Mohamed Siad Douale, Permanent Mission of Djibouti to the UN in Geneva, 13 April 2010; and CMC meeting with Isse Abdillahi Assoweh, Deputy Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, International Conference on the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Santiago, 7–9 June 2010.
[2] Interview with Amb. Mohamed Siad Douale, Permanent Mission of Djibouti to the UN in Geneva, 13 April 2010.
[3] Statement of Djibouti, Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions, 6 December 2007. Notes by the CMC/WILPF.
[4] CMC, “Report on the Kampala Conference on the Convention on Cluster Munitions, 29–30 September 2008.”
[5] Interview with Amb. Mohamed Siad Douale, Permanent Mission of Djibouti to the UN in Geneva, 13 April 2010.
[6] Email from Laura Cheeseman, Campaigning Officer, CMC, 12 December 2008.
[7] Interview with Amb. Mohamed Siad Douale, Permanent Mission of Djibouti to the UN in Geneva, 13 April 2010.
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