Following the Government’s approval of the ministry’s motion, the president should address the Seimas with a request to denounce the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
The Ministry of National Defence says Lithuania should leave the treaty due to significant changes in the national security situation and threats posed to the country since Lithuania ratified the document in 2010.
Lithuania and Norway are the only countries bordering Russia in the region that comply with the international treaty that prohibits all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions.
„Russia’s war against Ukraine has also shown that it is particularly difficult to effectively replace the use of cluster munitions and their defensive power against a large-scale attack,“ an explanatory letter reads.
The Ministry of National Defence highlighted that Lithuania would follow the principles of international humanitarian law after its withdrawal from the Convention. In addition, proper rules and procedures could be set out to mitigate the consequences of the use of cluster munitions.
The Lithuanian Seimas ratified the Convention banning the use of cluster munitions in December 2010. The Parliament will also have a final say on the withdrawal from the treaty.
Discussions on Lithuania’s possible withdrawal from the Oslo Convention banning the use of cluster munitions started as early as last summer, after the then defence minister Arvydas Anušauskas suggested the move.
When exploding, cluster bombs break apart into many small explosives which normally detonate on contact with hard ground, but may fail to do so when hitting wet or soft surfaces. Such submunitions can explode if stepped on or picked up, and for this reason, this type of munition is considered harmful to civilians.