Human Rights Watch opposes transfer of outdated cluster munitions from Türkiye to Ukraine

Human Rights Watch has called on the US Congress to block the transfer of cluster munitions from Türkiye's stockpiles to Ukraine because of the risks they pose to civilians. The US State Department says Ukraine needs the systems to bolster its fire support capabilities in the war against Russia.

Source: Human Rights Watch

Details: On 11 August, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the US Congress to block the planned transfer of cluster munitions from Türkiye's stockpiles to Ukraine. According to HRW, Türkiye has asked the US for permission to transfer munitions that have been stored in its warehouses for decades. The US$256 million deal includes 12 M270 launchers, 70 M39 ATACMS ballistic missiles, 2,524 M26 rockets and 47,000 M509A1 203mm artillery shells. HRW has pointed out that these munitions contain more than 10 million submunitions in total.

HRW is calling on Congress to block the transfer, arguing that some of the munitions have been stored for over 30 years. The organisation believes that due to their age and unreliability, some of the submunitions may be duds and could pose a danger to civilians long after the war is over.

Quote from Nicole Widdersheim, deputy Washington director at HRW: "Dumping obsolete cluster munitions into a conflict creates a humanitarian liability for civilians that is tragically foreseeable."

Details: However, in a letter to Congress dated 6 August, a US State Department official said that "Ukraine seeks to acquire these systems to bolster its offensive and defence fire support capabilities as it resists the Russian invasion. Ukraine already possesses munitions of the same or essentially similar type."

The State Department also said that the US government is prepared to authorise the transfer, adding that Türkiye "seeks to reduce its inventory of older defence articles to focus its financial resources on modernisation and sustainment of existing systems".

HRW stresses that cluster munitions scatter large numbers of submunitions over a given area, some of which may fail to detonate during an attack and remain dangerous after hostilities have ended.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions bans the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of such weapons. However, Ukraine, Russia and the US are not parties to the convention.

The US has had legal restrictions on the export of cluster munitions in place since 2009. However, the Biden administration transferred munitions to Ukraine on at least seven occasions in 2023-2024, without disclosing the quantities.

HRW notes that it is not publicly known whether the Trump administration has made a separate decision allowing these restrictions to be bypassed in the case of the Turkish stockpiles. Congress can block the transfer by adopting a Joint Resolution of Disapproval.

Previously: Ukraine has purchased 70 M39 ATACMS ballistic missiles, 12 M270 MLRS launchers and tens of thousands of cluster munitions from Türkiye. As the weapons are of US origin, their transfer to Ukraine must be separately approved by the US as part of the re-export process.

Background:

• On 7 July 2023, the US announced a US$800 million military assistance package for Ukraine which included cluster munitions for the first time.
• Washington's assistance drew criticism from NGOs and caused concern in several European countries and Canada, as cluster munitions are considered more dangerous to civilians, and many countries are party to the convention and therefore refuse to use and store them.
• US President Joe Biden admitted that approving the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine was a difficult decision, but said he believed it was the right thing to do given the shortage of artillery shells.
• On 20 July 2023, an unnamed Ukrainian official told The Washington Post that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had already begun using cluster munitions against Russian forces.

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