Summary

Non-signatory Latvia has not taken any steps to accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It has never participated in a meeting of the convention, even as an observer. Latvia has consistently abstained from voting on the annual United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015.  

Latvia states that it has never used, produced, stockpiled, or transferred cluster munitions and says that it is in de facto compliance with the convention.

Policy

The Republic of Latvia has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Latvia has not taken any steps to accede to the convention, but claims to be in de facto compliance with its provisions. In July 2018, Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs remarked that Latvia “fully shares the concerns” over the “indiscriminate use of certain cluster munitions,” and “supports the objectives” of the convention.[1] Latvia often states that the humanitarian concerns raised by cluster munitions must be balanced against “security concerns and strategic defense considerations.”[2]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials have responded to requests for updates by the Monitor since 2010.[3] In May 2017, Latvia told the Monitor that its position on accession “has not changed” and said it is committed to “act in line” with the convention’s provisions.[4]

Latvia participated as an observer at several meetings of the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions, including the Dublin negotiations in May 2008 and the Oslo Signing Conference in December 2008.[5]

Latvia attended the second part of the convention’s Second Review Conference in Geneva in September 2021, but did not make a statement. This marked the first time that it has participated in a meeting of the convention.

In December 2021, Latvia abstained from the vote on a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution urging states outside the convention to “join as soon as possible.”[6] Latvia has abstained from voting on the annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015.

In March 2022, Latvia endorsed a joint statement by eight Nordic-Baltic states that condemned Russia’s use of cluster munitions in Ukraine, calling it one of several “inhuman and immoral actions [that] embody Russia’s disregard for international law, including international humanitarian law, and the principles upon which the UN is based.”[7]

Latvia has also voted in favor of UNGA resolutions expressing outrage at use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in December 2020.[8]

Latvia is party to the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

In July 2018, the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that “Latvia neither produces nor possesses cluster munitions, nor does it store or use them,” adding that “Latvia currently has no plans to acquire or use this type of munitions in future.”[9] Latvia has repeated on several occasions that it has never used, produced, stockpiled, or transferred cluster munitions.[10]

Latvia has often stated that it is committed “to act in line” with the provisions of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and claims that it is de facto compliant.[11]