Convention On Cluster Munitions : State Parties Examine Adhesion Obstacles

The principle of humanity and putting an end to suffering and causalities provoked by arms occupies centre stage in policies by governments and institutions. It is against this backdrop that the Convention on Cluster Munitions was conceived. It is an international treaty adopted in 2008 that prohibits the use, production and transfer of cluster munitions, and obliges the destruction of these munitions within a period of eight years and the removal of contaminated land within a ten-year period. Since its entry into force, some State parties for several reasons have not adhered to the Convention. To better understand the obstacles preventing State parties from adhering to the Convention, a regional workshop for Francophone Africa on the universalisation of the treaty began yesterday February 15, 2023 in Yaounde and ends today February 16. The opening session of the workshop was presented at by the Secretary General of the Ministry of External Relations, Oumarou Chinmoun on behalf of the Minister. 
In his opening statement, the Minister Plenipotentiary noted that the workshop offers a platform for francophone African countries (both State parties and non-State parties) to discuss on the challenges faced in the ratification or adhesion process and explore concrete solutions to ensure their possible adhesion within shortest reasonable time. “Cameroon who ratified the Convention on July 12, 2012 and integrated it in its national legal framework within the framework of disarmament in 2016 invites countries in Central Africa, Gulf of Guinea and the continent as a whole to follow suit. International assistance mechanisms offered by this ...