GENEVA, July 10. /TASS/. Switzerland supports the cluster munitions ban and calls on all countries not to use them, Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Pierre Alain Elchinger told TASS on Monday, commenting on the United States’ decision to supply such weapons to Ukraine.
"Switzerland took note of the measures taken by the United States," he noted. "As a member state of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Switzerland supports the ban on these weapons and calls on all states not to use them."
"Indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks are prohibited and constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law," he stressed.
On July 7, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the United States had decided to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, despite the fact that the United Nations opposed the use of such munitions. He also said that Kiev had issued written assurances to Washington that those weapons would be used in a way so as to minimize risks to civilians. Pentagon Spokesman Patrick Ryder said on Thursday that the United States was poised to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions that posed the least risk to civilians.
Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Farhan Haq said earlier, commenting on media reports about the US’ plans to supply such munitions to Ukraine, that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres supports the Convention on Cluster Munitions and is against the use of such weapons on the battlefield.
Cluster bombs can contain hundreds of separate munitions. When detonated in the air, cluster munitions scatter bomblets over an area of dozens of square meters. If unexploded immediately, these bomblets remain lying on the ground, posing a threat to civilians long after the end of a conflict. The Convention on Cluster Munitions was signed in 2008. As many as 111 countries have joined it to date and another 12 states have signed the document but have yet to ratify it.