Switzerland Calls on All Countries Not to Use Cluster Munitions

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 US' 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 opposes the use of such munitions.

He also indicated that Kyiv had issued written assurances to Washington that these weapons would be used in a way that reduces the risks to civilians. Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said Thursday that the US is preparing to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions that pose the least risk to civilians.

Earlier, Deputy Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Farhan Haq said, commenting on media reports about US plans to supply Ukraine with such munitions, that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres supports the Convention on Cluster Munitions and opposes the use of such weapons. on the battlefield.

Cluster bombs can contain hundreds of separate submunitions. When cluster munitions explode in the air, the bomblets scatter over an area of tens of square meters.

If not detonated immediately, these bomblets remain lying on the ground, posing a threat to civilians long after the conflict ends. The Convention on Cluster Munitions was signed in 2008.