UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Jill Edwards has called on the US government to reconsider its decision to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine, warning that they could cause serious harm to civilians.
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In a letter sent to the US government back in July and published on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday, Edwards called on Washington to provide its assessment of whether the decision to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine was compatible with its obligations under international law to respect human rights. person.
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“I…call on the (US) government to reconsider the decision to transfer cluster munitions and stop any plans to implement such a decision,” the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture said in a letter.
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Edwards also called on the US government to accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and stop using, producing and transferring cluster munitions to other countries.
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“Cluster munitions pose an ongoing threat because they often do not explode properly … and can remain dangerous for decades. They unnecessarily delay a full transition to peace,” Edwards said in the letter.
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Ukraine received cluster munitions from the United States as part of the next military aid package. They are prohibited by an international convention that has been ratified by 123 countries, but the United States and Ukraine are not among them. When they explode, cluster bombs emit smaller ammunition, some of which fail to detonate for technical reasons. This puts civilians at risk: unexploded ordnance becomes landmines that can kill or maim people long after hostilities have ended.
