Side event at the Third Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions
Wednesday, 16 September 2026 | 12:00–13:45 ICT | Room 7, Lao National Convention Centre, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Light lunch will be served from 12.00
In 2007, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) and its partners conducted a landmark study on the reliability of the M85 submunitions, which played a key role in the campaign to ban cluster munitions and informed the negotiations that led to the adoption of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) in 2008.
The findings successfully challenged the effectiveness of cluster munitions with self-destruct mechanisms claiming to ensure low failure rates and minimize post-conflict contamination and civilian harm. Nearly two decades later, its findings remain relevant and critical in addressing the nature and humanitarian consequences of these weapons.
Against a backdrop of reported renewed use of cluster munitions in conflicts, recent withdrawals from key humanitarian disarmament treaties and claims of "significant advancements" in cluster munition technology and "minimized humanitarian harm", NPA commissioned Fenix Insight to conduct an independent technical study into what has actually changed since 2008, and what has not changed.
Recalling the Oslo process and the humanitarian principles that underpin the ban against cluster munitions, this side event aims to reinforce the importance of evidence-based policymaking and the CCM's core purpose to protect civilians and stigmatize weapons that cause indiscriminate and lasting harm. Drawing on past and present evidence, the event will reflect on today's developments and challenges related to the use of cluster munitions.
Key objectives of the side event:
- Revisit the Oslo process and the role of evidence in shaping the CCM negotiations
- Highlight the preventive impact of the CCM and the continued importance of evidence-based research and policymaking
- Present the origins and key findings of the 2007 M85 study and its role in shaping the Convention
- Present a new briefing paper and report assessing the credibility of recent claims of "significant advancements" in cluster munition technology against the available evidence
- Examine emerging evidence from recent conflicts and renewed use, including the complexity and challenges of cluster munition clearance.
Programme
