PH Shares Lessons Learned as Newest State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions 

Special Envoy on Transnational Crime Bruce S. Concepcion (left) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Munitions Control Center’s Colonel Fernando V. Felipe (right) seated together while the latter delivers the Philippine statement during the Ninth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Geneva on 02-04September 2019. (Geneva PM photo)

GENEVA 17 September 2019 – The global effort to stigmatize and ban the use of cluster munitions received a boost from the Philippines, as it was warmly welcomed as the 106th and latest State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) at the Ninth Meeting of States Parties (9MSP), held at the Palais des Nations on 02 to 04 September 2019.

Armed Forces of the Philippines-Munitions Control Center’s (AFP-MCC) Colonel Fernando V. Felipe firmly conveyed the Philippine military’s continued policy against the inclusion of cluster munitions in its operational requirements, noting the real risk of civilian casualties due to the weapon’s indiscriminate nature. He also shared lessons learned from the accession process, highlighting the importance of engaging communities, rallying support from domestic stakeholders, and facilitating international cooperation.

The Philippines’ contribution to the CCM’s universalization efforts was widely recognized in the 9MSP, with particular praise given to its hosting of an Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop in Manila last June 2019, in partnership with New Zealand, Switzerland, Sri Lanka (the 9MSP Chair) and the CCM’s Implementation Support Unit.

Twenty-four more accessions are needed to reach the objective of the Dubrovnik Plan of Action of 130 States Parties by 2020. The Philippines is one of the two Signatory States (the other being Gambia) which acceded to the Convention during the inter-sessional period since 8MSP in 2018. END

For more information, visit https://www.genevapm.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinGenevaUN/.