Samoa

The Independent State of Samoa signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo on 3 December 2008. In February 2009, the chief executive of Samoa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the government will ratify the convention “as soon as it is practicably possible” and will put in place “relevant legislation that will enable the Convention to be implemented domestically in line with Article 9 of the Convention.”^[1]

Samoa has stated on several occasions that it does not use, produce, or stockpile cluster munitions.^[2] Samoa is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Samoa joined the Oslo Process in February 2008, when it participated in the Wellington Conference on Cluster Munitions and endorsed the Wellington Declaration (indicating its intention to participate fully in the formal negotiations in Dublin). Samoa said, “We support a ban on cluster munitions in all its manifestations because of the devastating effects on human life and for other humanitarian considerations.” Samoa confirmed that it “does not produce, use, stockpile or transfer cluster munitions, nor do we plan to produce, use, stockpile or be a transit point for cluster munitions.”^[3]

During the Dublin negotiations, Samoa supported the most comprehensive ban possible.^[4] At the conclusion, Samoa welcomed the convention’s contribution to disarmament, non-proliferation, and international humanitarian law and noted it should be implemented in good faith in a spirit of broad cooperation.^[5]

Upon signing the convention in Oslo, Samoa’s Ambassador Tuala Falani Chan Tung described the agreement as “a milestone,” but warned that “the hardest work is still ahead of us” to achieve “full and effective implementation.”^[6]