Policy

The Kingdom of Cambodia has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, despite the fact that it was an early, prominent, and influential supporter of the Oslo Process that produced the convention.

 At the time when the convention opened for signature in Oslo in December 2008, Cambodia told the states gathered there that due to “recent security developments” in the region, it now needed more time to study the “impacts of the convention on its security capability and national defense.”[1]

Shortly thereafter, a Cambodian government spokesperson said, “We are not under any pressure…as a non-producing country. Due to the fact that Thailand does not sign yet the treaty…we can delay a bit our adhesion to the treaty.”[2] 

At the same time, a Ministry of Defense official said that the government needed to further study the treaty to see how it would affect the nation’s defense capabilities. He said that Cambodia had to determine if some of its weapons would be prohibited by the convention.[3]

In July 2009, a Council of Ministers official said that due to current border tensions with Thailand, Cambodia had to delay signing the Convention on Cluster Munitions. He said, “This does not mean that Cambodia has turned away from its promise. We will still sign on to this treaty…even though our two big neighbors, Thailand and Vietnam, have refused to sign.”[4]

He further said that the Ministry of Defense had requested more time to determine how many cluster munitions the armed forces possess and how long it will take to replenish the defense capabilities after stockpiles are destroyed. Officials said it was unclear how long the armed forces would need to complete their study of cluster munition stockpiles.[5]

In a December 2009 meeting with CMC and ICBL members, Cambodian officials said that Cambodia intends to join the convention, but must complete a review of its stockpile first to determine when this might be possible. There is no timetable for the review, but it could take a year or more.[6]

In June 2010, Minister of Defense Tea Banh said, “We will sign in the future. Now we need to protect our country and our sovereignty from other countries like Thailand, which has border problems with us.”

On 1 August 2010, as the Convention on Cluster Munitions entered into force internationally, Cambodian officials continued to say that the government cannot join before first determining how it might affect the military. Concerns were also raised about the ability to meet the clearance obligations.  An official said, “If we sign, it means we bind our hands. We’re studying how much it will cost to remove old cluster munitions and to protect our nation against border violations.”[7]

Another official said, “As a heavily cluster-bombed country, we are willing to become a party to the convention. But we have to consider thoroughly any impact to our national security.”[8]

 Cambodia has shown some continued interest in the convention. It attended the Special Event on the Convention on Cluster Munitions held at the UN in New York in March 2009 to promote the convention, and the Regional Conference on the Promotion and Universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, in Bali, Indonesia in November 2009. In Bali, it recounted its long-term support for the convention.[9] Cambodia did not attend the International Conference on the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Santiago, Chile in June 2010. 

Oslo Process

In March 2007, the Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia, Sok An, announced Cambodia’s decision to join the Oslo Process, saying, “Cambodia supports this Oslo appeal to ban cluster munitions which cause unacceptable harm to civilians, and will become an active participant in the process.”[10] Cambodia endorsed the Oslo Declaration, thereby committing to conclude in 2008 a new convention prohibiting cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. 

Cambodia hosted the first regional forum on cluster munitions in Southeast Asia in Phnom Penh in March 2007. It participated actively in all three of the international conferences to develop the convention text in Lima, Vienna, and Wellington, as well as the formal negotiations in Dublin in May 2008. Throughout the Oslo Process, Cambodia advocated strongly for the most comprehensive and immediate ban possible, without any exceptions, and for strong provisions on victim assistance and on international cooperation and assistance. Cambodia was one of the 107 nations that adopted the text of the Convention of Cluster Munitions at the conclusion of the negotiations in May 2008.[11]

Despite Cambodia’s extensive and positive leadership role in the Oslo Process, it did not sign the convention in Oslo on 3 December.  It attended the signing conference as an observer and made a statement reiterating its commitment to the convention, describing it as a “historic development.” However, as noted above, it said that it needed more time to study the security implications of signing, in light of recent developments.[12]

Cambodia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. Cambodia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but has not ratified Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. Cambodia has not actively engaged in the CCW deliberations on cluster munitions in recent years.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Cambodia is not believed to have used, produced, or exported cluster munitions. The size and precise content of Cambodia’s stockpile of cluster munitions is not known.

In December 2008, a Ministry of Defense official said that Cambodia has “some missile launchers that use cluster munitions that weigh more than 20 kg,” and that Cambodia needs to determine whether it would still be able to use those cluster munitions in times of war. He also said Cambodia has stockpiles of cluster munitions weighing 250kg left over from the 1980s which Cambodia intends to destroy.[13] Weapons with submunitions that weigh more than 20kg each are not defined as cluster munitions in the Convention on Cluster Munitions and are not prohibited.[14]

In July 2009, it was reported that the armed forces was still engaged in a study of its cluster munition stockpile.[15] In December 2009, Cambodian officials said the review, which could take a year or more, is looking at how many cluster munitions are in stock, which are prohibited by the convention, and how many years it would take to replace them. The review is being assisted by the German Society for Technical Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit,GTZ) and Dyncorp.[16]

The United States dropped large numbers of cluster bombs on Cambodia in the 1960s and 1970s.