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Country Reports
Download PDF of country response to Human Rights Watch letter.
Argentina

Argentina

The Republic of Argentina has not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, even though it was an active participant in the Oslo Process from the beginning, and joined in the consensus adoption of the convention at the end of the negotiations in Dublin in May 2008.

Argentina is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but has not ratified Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War (ERW).

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

At the CCW Third Review Conference in November 2006, Argentina supported a proposal for a mandate to negotiate a legally-binding instrument “that addresses the humanitarian concerns posed by cluster munitions.”[1] However, when other CCW States Parties rejected such a mandate, Argentina did not join 25 nations in supporting a declaration calling for an agreement that would prohibit the use of cluster munitions “within concentrations of civilians,” prohibit the use of cluster munitions that “pose serious humanitarian hazards because they are for example unreliable and/or inaccurate,” and require destruction of stockpiles of such cluster munitions.[2]

Argentina participated in the initial conference to launch the Oslo Process in February 2007 and endorsed the Oslo Declaration, committing states to conclude a new legal instrument in 2008 prohibiting cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. However, Argentina stated its preference for the agreement to be concluded within the framework of the CCW.[3]

Argentina participated in all three of the international Oslo Process conferences to develop the convention text, in Lima, Vienna, and Wellington, as well as the formal negotiations in Dublin in May 2008. It also attended the Latin America regional meetings held in Costa Rica (September 2007), Mexico (April 2008), and Ecuador (November 2008).

At Lima conference in May 2007, Argentina’s proposal that the definition exempt cluster munitions with submunitions with self-destruct mechanisms was strongly opposed by several states as well as the CMC. Argentina also emphasized the importance of financial assistance to ensure developing states can fulfill their treaty obligations.[4]

Argentina was more supportive of a broader prohibition on cluster munitions during the Vienna conference, but continued to state that work on cluster munitions should be carried out in both the Oslo Process and the CCW.[5] By the Wellington conference, Argentina’s position had evolved to support for a ban on cluster munitions without exceptions. It supported a six-year stockpile destruction deadline and opposed the retention of cluster munitions for training or research purposes arguing that retention could be a loophole that would weaken the convention.[6]

Argentina played an active role in the Dublin negotiations on a variety of issues. It was critical of the proposed exclusion for munitions that contain submunitions but that may not have the same negative humanitarian effects as cluster munitions. It unsuccessfully proposed deletion of this Article 2.2(c) exclusion.[7] Argentina argued against the inclusion of a transition period noting that this could lead to a greater use of the weapon.[8] It was skeptical of including a provision on “interoperability” (joint military operations with states not party), which it said could create a loophole for the use of cluster munitions by military coalitions.[9] Argentina changed its position to support the retention of cluster munitions for training.[10]

Argentina also advocated for a broad definition of “victims” and the inclusion of survivors in decision-making on victim assistance.[11] It co-sponsored a proposal to strengthen the victim assistance provisions in the draft treaty.[12] Argentina suggested adding a reference in the preamble to Security Council resolutions 1325 on women, peace and security and 1612 on children and armed conflicts.[13]

When the convention was adopted on 30 May 2008, Argentina stated that it would remain watchful of the Article 2.2(c) exclusion to see if there was a need for its revision in the future and said that Article 21 on interoperability should not appear in the convention, because it generated “uncertainty” without contributing to the aims of the convention.[14] Argentina agreed, however, that these provisions were necessary in order to reach a consensus agreement on the text as a whole.

Argentina continued to support work on cluster munitions in the CCW following the adoption of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Dublin. At a CCW meeting in July 2008, Argentina stated it believed that an agreement within CCW could supplement the convention.[15] When the CCW negotiations in November 2008 failed to reach an agreement, Argentina expressed regret.[16] It said the CCW should continue to discuss cluster munitions in 2009. Argentina did not join 26 states that issued a joint statement expressing their opposition to the weak draft text on a possible CCW protocol on cluster munitions, indicating it was an unacceptable step back from the standards set by the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[17]

Argentina did not attend the regional Oslo Process meeting held in Quito, Ecuador in November 2008 to promote signature to the convention and was not present at the signing conference in Oslo in December 2008. In a March 2009 letter to Human Rights Watch, Argentina said that, while it did not sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the issue “remains under active consideration” at the CCW.[18]

Use, Stockpiling, Transfer, and Production

The United Kingdom dropped 107 BL-755 cluster bombs containing a total of 15,729 submunitions on Argentine positions during the armed conflict in the Falkland/Malvinas Islands in 1982.[19]

In March 2009, Argentina stated, “At present, the Republic of Argentina doesn’t have cluster munitions, it hasn’t utilized or transferred them.”[20] Argentina told delegates to the Lima conference in May 2007 that it had already destroyed its stocks of cluster munitions.[21] Jane’s Information Group reported that French Belouga and US Rockeye cluster bombs were in service with Argentina’s air forces.[22] Military officials informed Human Rights Watch in September 2006 that stocks of BLG-66 Belouga and Rockeye air-dropped bombs were destroyed by 2005.[23]

In the past, Argentina developed and produced artillery-delivered cluster munitions. The Armed Forces Center for Technical and Scientific Research (Centro de Investigaciones Técnicas y Científicas de las Fuerzas Armadas, CITEFA) developed and produced the CME 155mm artillery projectile which contains 63 dual purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) submunitions equipped with a backup pyrotechnic self-destruct mechanism.[24] According to military officials, this effort did not reach full scale production and was dismantled, and the projectiles were never fielded by the Armed Forces of Argentina.[25]


[1] Proposal for a Mandate to Negotiate a Legally-Binding Instrument that Addresses the Humanitarian Concerns Posed by Cluster Munitions, Presented by Austria, Holy See, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, and Sweden, Third Review Conference of the States Parties to the CCW, CCW/CONF.III/WP.1, Geneva, 25 October 2006.

[2] Declaration on Cluster Munitions, Third Review Conference of the States Parties to the CCW, CCW/CONF.III/WP.18, Geneva, 17 November 2006.

[3] Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions, 22–23 February 2007. Notes by CMC/WILPF.

[4] Lima Conference on Cluster Munitions, 23–25 May 2007. Notes by CMC/WILPF; CMC, “CMC Report on the Lima Conference and Next Steps,” May 2007, www.stopclustermunitions.org; and WILPF, “Report from the Lima Conference on Cluster Munitions,” May 2007, www.wilpf.int.ch.

[5] Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions, 5–7 December 2007. Notes by CMC/WILPF; WILPF, “The Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions,” December 2007, www.wilpf.int.ch; and CMC, “CMC Report on the Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions,” December 2007, www.stopclustermunitions.org.

[6] Wellington Conference on Cluster Munitions, 18–22 February 2008. Notes by CMC; and Katherine Harrison, “Report on the Wellington Conference on Cluster Munitions, 18–22 February 2008,” WILPF, March 2008, www.wilpf.int.ch.

[7] CMC, “Day 4 – Towards Some Text Solutions – Dublin Diplomatic Conference,” 22 May 2008, www.stopclustermunitions.org; and Summary Record of the Committee of the Whole, Eleventh Session: 26 May 2008, Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, CCM/CW/SR/11, 18 June 2008.

[8] Summary Record of the Committee of the Whole, Eighth Session: 23 May 2008, Dublin Diplomatic Conference, CCM/CW/SR/8, 18 June 2008.

[9] Summary Record of the Committee of the Whole, Tenth Session: 26 May 2008, Dublin Diplomatic Conference, CCM/CW/SR/10, 18 June 2008.

[10] Summary Record of the Committee of the Whole, Third Session: 20 May 2008, Dublin Diplomatic Conference, CCM/CW/SR/3, 18 June 2008.

[11] Proposal by Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Lebanon, Mexico, Palau, and Uruguay for the Amendment of Article 2, Dublin Diplomatic Conference, CCM/71, 21 May 2008; and Summary Record of the Committee of the Whole, Second Session: 20 May 2008, Dublin Diplomatic Conference, CCM/CW/SR/2, 18 June 2008.

[12] Proposal by Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Zambia for the amendment of Article 5, Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, CCM/70, 21 May 2008.

[13] Summary Record of the Committee of the Whole, Tenth Session: 26 May 2008, Dublin Diplomatic Conference, CCM/CW/SR/10, 18 June 2008.

[14] Summary Record of the Plenary and Closing Ceremony of the Conference, Fourth Session: 30 May 2008, Dublin Diplomatic Conference, CCM/SR/4, 18 June 2008.

[15] Third 2008 Session of the CCW Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Cluster Munitions, Geneva, 7–25 July 2008. Notes by Landmine Action.

[16] Fifth 2008 Session of the CCW GGE on Cluster Munitions, Geneva, 3–7 November 2008. Notes by Landmine Action.

[17] Statement delivered by Costa Rica on behalf of Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Croatia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Holy See, Honduras, Indonesia, Ireland, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Uruguay, and Venezuela, Fifth 2008 Session of the CCW GGE on Cluster Munitions, Geneva, 5 November 2008.

[18] Letter from Amb. Jorge Argüello, Permanent Mission of Argentina to the UN in New York, 13 March 2009.

[19] Human Rights Watch, “Cluster Munition Information Chart,” March 2009, www.hrw.org.

[20] Letter from Amb. Jorge Argüello, Permanent Mission of Argentina to the UN in New York, 13 March 2009.

[21] Statement of Argentina, Session on Stockpile Destruction, Lima Conference, 24 May 2007. Notes by CMC/WILPF.

[22] Colin King, ed., Jane’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal 2007-2008, CD-edition, 15 January 2008, (Surrey, UK: Jane’s Information Group Limited, 2008).

[23] Human Rights Watch, “Survey of Cluster Munition Policy and Practice,” February 2007, www.hrw.org.

[24] CITEFA, “Report Referring to Employment of Submunitions” (“Informe Referido a Empleo de Submuniciones”), undated, provided to Pax Christi Netherlands by the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the UN Office in Geneva, 14 June 2005; Argentina, “Replies to Document CCW/GGE/X/WG.1/WP.2, Entitled ‘International Humanitarian Law and ERW,’ ” CCW/GGE/XI/WG.1/WP.10, 2 August 2005, p. 3.

[25] Remarks made to Human Rights Watch by members of the Argentina delegation to the Latin America Conference on Cluster Munitions, San José, Costa Rica, 5 September 2007.