Philippines regrets Lithuanian departure from cluster munitions treaty
Geneva, 10 March 2025 – The Philippines’ Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Carlos D. Sorreta, in his capacity as the President of the 13th Meeting of the States Parties (MSP) to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), released a statement on the withdrawal of Lithuania from the CCM. The statement reads:
Statement of the 13MSP Presidency on Lithuania’s effective withdrawal from the Convention on Cluster Munitions
March 6, 2025
It is with deep regret that we acknowledge the decision by Lithuania to proceed with its decision, announced six months ago, to withdraw as a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (“the Convention"), which took effect on 6 March 2025. It is an unprecedented decision that risks eroding the norms and principles that prohibit the use of cluster munitions, which have caused indiscriminate harm and suffering over the past decades.
Efforts were exerted by many to engage Lithuania to reconsider its decision, given the Convention’s role in humanitarian disarmament, particularly in the context of the legal obligation of the States Parties to the Convention to promote universal adherence to and strict observance of the Convention’s norms.
This is the first ever case of withdrawal of a State from a multilateral treaty prohibiting a whole class of weapons. Though withdrawal is allowed by the Convention and is a sovereign prerogative, we hope there will be no other withdrawals, for the integrity of the Convention and for the sanctity of international humanitarian law.
Carlos D. Sorreta
Ambassador and Permanent Representative
Philippine Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations
Geneva
In July 2024, the government of Lithuania signed the Law on Denounce of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which entered into force on 26 July 2024. The withdrawal is formalized on 06 March 2025.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions or the CCM was adopted in Dublin, Ireland by 107 states on 30 May 2008, and was signed in Oslo on 03 December of the same year. The Convention seeks to address the inhumane and indiscriminate impact of cluster munitions. Lithuania became a State Party to the CCM in 2011.
The Philippines took on the presidency of the CCM in September 2024. Its leadership of the Convention is guided by the principles of prioritizing victim assistance and strengthening independent capacities of affected states to address the challenges posed by cluster munitions, while ensuring that the core principles of the Convention are safeguarded, at a crucial time since its adoption in 2008. The Philippines is also adopting a forward-looking agenda in view of the Convention’s Review Conference in 2026. END