Djibouti
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
Summary
Djibouti signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in July 2010, but still has not ratified it despite pledging to do so. Djibouti participated in the convention’s intersessional meetings in May 2022, and voted in favor of the key annual United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention in December 2021.
Djibouti states that it has not used, produced, or stockpiled cluster munitions.
Policy
The Republic of Djibouti signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 30 July 2010.
Various government officials have expressed Djibouti’s intent to ratify the convention, but no steps have been taken to complete ratification.[1] The current status of its ratification is not known.
Djibouti participated in several meetings of the Oslo Process that created the convention. It did not attend the Oslo Signing Conference in December 2008, but signed the convention at the UN in New York in July 2010 after making several positive statements in support of the convention.[2]
Djibouti participated in meetings of States Parties in 2010–2012 and the convention’s intersessional meetings held in Geneva in May 2022.[3] It was invited to, but did not attend, the convention’s Second Review Conference in November 2020 and September 2021. Djibouti has participated in regional workshops on the convention in the past, but did not attend the workshop held in Abuja, Nigeria in March 2022.
Djibouti voted in favor of the key United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution in December 2021 that urged states outside the convention to “join as soon as possible.”[4] It has voted in favor of the annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015.
Djibouti has voted in favor of UNGA resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in December 2021.[5]
Djibouti is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).
Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling
Djibouti has stated several times that it has not used, produced, or stockpiled cluster munitions.[6]
[1] In 2017, a representative from Djibouti confirmed the government’s desire to ratify the convention, but did not provide any further information. Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) meeting with Houmed-Gaba Maki, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Djibouti to the UN in Geneva, Geneva, 25 April 2017. Notes by the CMC. Previously, in 2012, Djibouti said that ratification of the convention was underway, but provided no further details. Statement of Djibouti, Convention on Cluster Munitions Third Meeting of States Parties, Oslo, 13 September 2012.
[2] For more information on Djibouti’s policy and practice regarding cluster munitions through mid-2010, see ICBL, Cluster Munition Monitor 2010 (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, October 2010), pp. 143–144.
[3] Djibouti participated in the convention’s meetings of States Parties in 2010–2012 and an intersessional meeting in 2011. It has participated in regional workshops on the convention, most recently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in August 2016. See, “The Addis Ababa Commitment on Universalization and Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” African Regional Workshop of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Addis Ababa, 5 August 2016.
[4] “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 76/47, 6 December 2021.
[5] “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution 75/193, 16 December 2020. Djibouti voted in favor of similar UNGA resolutions from 2013–2019.
[6] Statement of Djibouti, Convention on Cluster Munitions Third Meeting of States Parties, Oslo, 13 September 2012; interview with Amb. Mohamed Siad Douale, Permanent Mission of Djibouti to the UN in Geneva, 13 April 2010; and statement of Djibouti, Convention on Cluster Munitions First Meeting of States Parties, Vientiane, 10 November 2010. Notes by the CMC.