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Human Rights Watch called on the US to block the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine from Turkey. The Presidentʼs Office responded

Author:
Olha Bereziuk
Date:

Human Rights Watch on August 12 called on the US Congress to block the possible transfer of tens of thousands of cluster munitions from Turkish stockpiles to Ukraine, calling such a decision “dangerous for the civilian population”. The Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Iryna Mudra insists that Ukraine uses these munitions for self-defense and takes all precautions.

Where did it all begin?

Turkey has requested permission from the United States to “re-transfer” tens of thousands of cluster munitions and artillery shells to Ukraine that have been stored in Turkish warehouses for decades. The proposed deal would see the transfer to Ukraine of:

Turkey also plans to sell 12 M270 launchers to Ukraine.

What Human Rights Watch says

HRW said the weapons contained more than 10 million explosive submunitions, some of which Turkey had previously produced under US licenses since 1987. The artillery shells, which make up the bulk of the proposed transfer, were decommissioned by the US in 1994.

Nicole Widdersheim, deputy director of Human Rights Watch in Washington, said that the export of obsolete cluster munitions to the conflict zone poses a foreseeable humanitarian threat to civilians. According to her, it is the danger to civilians from such inaccurate and unreliable munitions, which are more than 30 years old, that became one of the reasons why 112 countries banned cluster munitions by joining the relevant international convention.

The agency stressed that cluster munitions are inherently indiscriminate weapons, as they cannot be precisely targeted. Whenever they are used, they pose a deadly threat to civilians and entire communities.

What is Ukraineʼs position?

Deputy Head of the Office of the Ombudsman Iryna Mudra considers HRWʼs statement that cluster munitions are "indiscriminate by nature" to be a political position incorrectly expressed in the language of law.

Mudra emphasizes: Article 51 of Additional Protocol I, binding on both Ukraine and Russia, prohibits indiscriminate attacks, which are assessed by object, means, precautions taken, and proportionality in the specific circumstances. However, it does not prohibit specific weapons.

"When Russia fires cluster munitions at a residential area of Kharkiv, it is a war crime. When the Ukrainian Defense Forces destroy the occupierʼs artillery with cluster munitions in an open field, taking appropriate precautions, it is self-defense against genocidal aggression," she said.

Mudra emphasized that the Convention on Cluster Munitions has not become a customary norm. More than 70 states remain outside it, including the worldʼs largest artillery powers — the USA, China, Russia, India, Pakistan, South Korea, Turkey. The practice of such a scope is not widespread and not representative enough to oblige states that did not give their consent. Ukraine, Russia, the USA and Turkey — none of them are parties to the Convention.

“Now listen to how it sounds in Kyiv. On the morning of August 5, people cleaned the glass from their porches and went to work. A few days later, they learned that a New York NGO was lobbying in Washington for a decision that would make it harder for us to stop another strike like this. We already have a word for it: Westplaining. The campaign will end, its authors will fly home. We will stay here, because this is the only place we have. [...] A campaign waged in the name of civilians, if successful, will lead to the deaths and suffering of more civilians. That is why Ukrainians are outraged, and I share this outrage without reservation. I condemn this campaign in the strongest terms and call on Human Rights Watch to get its facts straight,” she emphasized.

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