Five-Year Review: State Party Denmark was among the first 30 ratifications that triggered the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010. It considers existing legislation as sufficient to enforce the convention’s provisions. Denmark has participated in most of the convention’s Meetings of States Parties and intersessional meetings, but not since 2013. It has expressed support for the convention’s universalization and has condemned the use of cluster munitions. Denmark has also elaborated its views on a number of important issues for the interpretation and implementation of the convention.

Denmark states it has not produced cluster munitions, and it is not known to have used or exported them. In March 2014, Denmark completed the destruction of a stockpile of 42,181 cluster munitions and 2.45 million submunitions. As of the end of 2014, Denmark was retaining 3,634 submunitions for training and research purposes.

Policy

The Kingdom of Denmark signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified on 12 February 2010. It was among the first 30 ratifications to trigger entry into force of the convention on 1 August 2010.[1]

Denmark has listed a 2009 parliamentary motion approving ratification under national implementation measures in its Article 7 reports and has indicated that specific implementation legislation is unnecessary as penal sanctions for violations of the convention are imposed by the Military Penal Code. The Defence Command has issued instructions on implementation of the convention.[2]

Denmark submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 27 January 2011 and has provided annual updates ever since, most recently on 7 April 2015.[3]

Denmark participated in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and its position shifted significantly to the point that it was able to adopt the convention at the conclusion of the negotiations in Dublin in May 2008.[4] Denmark’s swift ratification of the convention and the early completion of stockpile destruction in March 2014 demonstrate its strong commitment to the convention.[5]

Denmark has engaged in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, most recently in 2013. It has participated in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention except the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in San José, Costa Rica in September 2014. Denmark has attended all of the convention’s intersessional meetings held in Geneva since 2011, except the most recent meetings in June 2015.

Denmark has condemned the use of cluster munitions in Syria several times since 2012.[6] In September 2013, it stated that, “Denmark condemns all use of cluster munitions and calls on all states not parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions to join the convention…without delay. There are no other solutions to the humanitarian consequences of cluster munitions than a total and universal ban.”[7] Denmark has voted in favor of UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, including Resolution 69/189 on 18 December 2014, which expressed “outrage” at the continued use.[8]

Interpretive issues

Denmark’s ratification instrument provided the following statement on the prohibition on assistance with prohibited acts during joint military operations: “Article 21 contains a significant provision for States Parties to be allowed to cooperate with states not party to the Convention (interoperability). Regardless of the broad wording of the ban in Article 1, States Parties may continue to participate in military cooperation and operations with States not party to the Convention. However, this access is not unlimited, as a State Party is never allowed to develop or acquire cluster munitions or explicitly request support in the form of cluster munitions in a situation where the State Party has an exclusive control over the choice of the ammunition.”[9]

Denmark has reported that its Defence Command has issued instructions that stipulate “limitations on the possibilities to co-operate with nations who have not signed the convention.”[10] In July 2013, Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Monitor, that “according to Article 21 (3), States Parties and their military personnel or nationals are eligible to participate in military cooperation and military operations with States not party to the convention. This does not, however, alter the obligation of States Parties themselves to not stockpile or transfer cluster munitions, as specified by Article 21(4b).”[11]

Denmark has not elaborated it views on transit and foreign stockpiling or whether it agrees these activities are prohibited by the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

In May 2013, the government expressed support for a prohibition on investment in cluster munition production and requested that the Danish Council on Social Responsibility recommend how a legal prohibition on investment in weapons such as cluster munitions could be undertaken.[12] The announcement reversed Denmark’s previous policy opposing a ban on investment in companies involved in the production of cluster munitions.[13] On 13 March 2014, the Council delivered its report on responsible investment and arms conventions, but did not recommend a mandatory prohibition on investment in cluster munition producers.[14] The Council’s NGO members strongly opposed the lack of support for disinvestment from cluster munition production.[15] There have been no further actions on disinvestment since then.[16]

Denmark is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Use, production, and transfer

Denmark has declared that it has not produced cluster munitions.[17] Denmark is not known to have used or exported cluster munitions.

Stockpile destruction

Denmark once possessed a stockpile of 42,181 cluster munitions of three types and 2,452,699 submunitions, as listed in the table below.[18]

Cluster munitions formerly stockpiled by Denmark[19]

* DPICM = dual-purpose improved conventional munition

Under Article 3 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Denmark was required to declare and destroy all stockpiled cluster munitions under its jurisdiction and control as soon as possible, but no later than 1 August 2018.

Denmark announced that the completion of the stockpile destruction on 20 March 2014, more than four years in advance of the treaty-mandated deadline.[20] It announced the completion at the intersessional meetings in April 2014.[21]

According to Denmark’s April 2014 Article 7 report, the DM642 and DM662 155mm artillery projectiles were destroyed by the Danish company DENEX at its facility in Frederikshavn through a process of disassembly and incineration that was completed on 13 December 2013. The Mk-20 Rockeye cluster bombs were transferred to Spain where they were destroyed by Spanish company EXPAL at its facility, in a process that was completed on 24 January 2014. The Article 7 report annexes copies of certificates of destruction from DENEX and EXPAL and included detailed flow charts showing how the destruction process was undertaken as well as the safety and environmental standards observed.[22]

Denmark has estimated the total cost of destruction at approximately €2.3 million, which equates to less than €1 per submunition.[23] This is significantly lower than the initial destruction estimate provided in 2009 of up to DKK250 million (US$46.7 million).[24]

Retention

Denmark reported in April 2015 that it is retaining 3,634 submunitions for training and research purposes: 1,800 DM1383 and 1,834 DM1385 DPICM submunitions (the submunitions were removed from 155mm artillery projectiles).[25] The amount is significantly lower than the estimated number of cluster munitions that Denmark previously stated would be retained.[26] Denmark has stated that the retained submunitions have been separated from their shells and stored in carbon tubes and, as such, are not operational.[27]

According to the April 2015 report, no submunitions were consumed in the course of training in 2014.[28]

Policy

The Kingdom of Denmark signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified it on 8 June 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 March 1999. No additional legal or administrative measures were deemed necessary for national implementation of the treaty beyond ratification.

Denmark has not attended the annual Meeting of States Parties since 2012, but it did attend the treaty’s Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014. Denmark did not attend the intersessional meetings in May 2019. It previously regularly submitted annual Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 transparency reports, but has not done so since 2016. Denmark is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines, as well as CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. Denmark is also party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Production, transfer, stockpiling, and retention

Denmark has stated that production of antipersonnel mines ceased in the 1950s, and that it has never exported antipersonnel mines. Companies involved in mine production in the past include the government company, Ammunitionsarsenalet, and private companies ALUTOP Aps, DEMEX Consulting Engineers A/S, HAI Aluksering Horsens A/S – HAI Aluksering Korsør A/S, Korona Plast Aps, Lindys Maskinfabrik A/S and Nea-Lindberg A/S.[1] The types and quantities produced have not been revealed.[2]

The Ministry of Defense indicates that Denmark has not imported antipersonnel mines since 1990, but does not give any information on the type, quantity, value, and date of imports.[3] According to correspondence from the Foreign Ministry, Denmark imported M14 mines (apparently from the United States, US) and DM 31 mines (apparently from Germany) in the 1950s and 1960s, and M18A1 mines (apparently from the US) in the 1980s.[4] U.S. government sources indicate that the U.S. exported 1,576 antipersonnel mines to Denmark between 1983 and 1992.[5]

Stockpile destruction of 266,517 mines was completed in December 1999, well in advance of the treaty deadline of 1 March 2003. Denmark initially retained 4,991 mines for training and research, but this number has consistently been reduced. In its Article 7 report submitted in 2016, Denmark reported that it retained 1,783 mines for training as of 31 March 2016.[6] Denmark has not submitted a transparency report since then. These mines are used for “research and development by Danish Defence Research Establishment,” and for training in mine detection.[7]

Denmark’s Article 7 reports have not included the M18A1 Claymore mines and FFV013 Claymore-type mines previously acknowledged to be in stock. The Ministry of Defense stated that these mines have all been modified to command-detonated mode, and are now treated and used only as an “area defense weapon” by the Army (M18A1) and the Air Force (FFV013).[8]

Denmark has never been an exporter of antipersonnel mines.[9] Past production of mines was for the use of the Danish army only.[10]

In 2021, the Kingdom of Denmark contributed DKK93.1 million (US$14.8 million) in mine action funding to five states and to global activities.[1] This represented an increase of $1 million (or 7%) on the level of support provided by Denmark in 2020.

As in 2019 and 2020, the largest contribution went to Iraq, receiving more than $5 million and representing 40% of Denmark’s total contribution for the year.

Contributions by recipient: 2021[2]

Five-year support to mine action

In 2017–2021, Denmark’s contributions to mine action totaled more than DKK550 million ($80.7 million). In comparison, during the previous five-year period from 2012–2016, Denmark provided DKK282.6 million ($48.7 million). This demonstrates the impact of variations in exchange rate on Denmark’s contributions over the years, representing an 86% increase in national currency terms, but only a 66% increase in US$ terms.

Summary of contributions: 2017–2021[3]

Note: N/A=not applicable.