Portugal

The Portuguese Republic signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo on 3 December 2008. According to its ambassador to the UN, Portugal “intends to ratify it as soon as possible. The procedures for ratification are already underway.”^[1]

Portugal is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and ratified Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War on 22 February 2008.

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Portugal was among the group of 25 CCW States Parties that endorsed a formal declaration in November 2006 calling for an international agreement prohibiting cluster munitions that “pose serious humanitarian hazards.”^[2] When this initiative failed to spur action within the CCW, Portugal became an active participant in the Oslo Process and was among the states to endorse the Oslo Declaration in February 2007, committing to conclude an international treaty by 2008.

Portugal attended and made substantial contributions at international conferences to develop the treaty in Lima, Vienna, and Wellington, as well as the formal treaty negotiations in Dublin in May 2008. Portugal also attended the Brussels regional conference in October 2007.

During its presidency of the European Union (EU) in the second half of 2007, Portugal consistently urged that the international community respond to the humanitarian impact of cluster munitions through “concluding a legally binding instrument that prohibits the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians and includes provisions on cooperation and assistance.”^[3] Portugal actively promoted the EU proposal for a negotiating mandate within the CCW during its presidency.^[4]

During the Dublin negotiations in May 2008, Portugal called for the establishment of the most comprehensive prohibition on cluster munitions possible, while supporting a proposal by Germany to exclude from the definition of cluster munitions weapons with limited numbers of submunitions that could each engage “point targets” and included self-destruct and self-deactivation mechanisms.^[5]

Portugal also supported the inclusion of a provision on “interoperability” (joint military operations with states not party), although it argued that it should not in any way weaken the convention. Portugal stated that future States Parties would have a duty to convince others not to use cluster munitions.^[6]

Portugal opposed the inclusion of a transition period during which cluster munitions would still be permitted to be used.^[7] Portugal supported the inclusion of provisions allowing the retention of cluster munitions for training and research purposes, provided that the provision was for the minimum number necessary and States Parties were required to report on cluster munitions retained.^[8]

In the November 2008 session of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on cluster munitions in the CCW, Portugal expressed some reservations about the draft instrument under discussion but fully supported the continuation of work on the issue within the CCW, arguing that failure would exact a humanitarian price. ^[9]

Use, Production, Transfer, and Stockpiling

According to its ambassador to the UN, “Portugal has never produced or transferred cluster munitions. Except for the purpose of training our Armed Forces, we have never used them.”^[10]

During the Dublin negotiations in May 2008, Portugal announced that it no longer had any cluster munitions in operational stocks and had commenced destruction of remaining cluster munitions in non-operational stocks.^[11] Up until then the only indication that Portugal possessed cluster munitions was a mention in its annual national report for CCW Amended Protocol II in 2005 of the destruction of 11 BL-755 cluster bombs.^[12] In March 2009, Portugal disclosed, “We have stockpiled 11 cluster bombs type BL755, which have already been removed and earmarked for destruction. Stockpile destruction is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.”^[13]