Togo

The Togolese Republic signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo on 3 December 2008. The status of the ratification process is not known. Togo is not known to have used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions.

Togo did not attend the first two meetings of the Oslo Process in Oslo and Lima, but participated in last two international conferences to develop the convention text in Vienna and Wellington. It also participated in the formal negotiations in Dublin in May 2008, and one of two African regional meetings, in Kampala in September 2008.

At the Vienna conference, Togo emphasized the importance of international cooperation and assistance, especially for victim assistance, and expressed support for a complete prohibition of all cluster munitions.^[1] Togo made few remarks in Wellington, but later endorsed the Wellington Declaration on 9 May 2008, indicating its intention to participate fully in the Dublin negotiations based on the Wellington text.

At the Dublin negotiations, Togo joined other African nations in opposing various proposals to weaken the draft text, including a transition period before obligations take effect.^[2] Togo was part of the consensus adoption of the convention at the conclusion of the negotiations.^[3]

At the Kampala conference, Togo announced that it would sign the convention in Oslo.^[4] It endorsed the Kampala Action Plan, which declared that states should sign and “take all necessary measures to ratify the convention as soon as possible.”^[5]

Upon signing the convention, Togo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation Kofi Esaw urged signatories to work on implementation and universalization with the same determination and commitment that they showed when creating the convention.^[6]

Togo is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but has not ratified Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War. It has not participated actively in the CCW discussions on cluster munitions in recent years.