Philippines Elected President of the 13th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

GENEVA 18 September 2024 – During the 12th Meeting of the States Parties (12MSP) to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) held in Geneva, Switzerland on 10-13 September 2024, the Philippines’ Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Carlos D. Sorreta, was elected as the president of the 13th MSP to take place in September 2025 in a decision taken by consensus of States Parties to the Convention.

In his remarks as the president of the 13th MSP, Ambassador Sorreta stated that “the Philippines has never used, produced or stockpiled cluster munitions, and remains fully committed to the Convention and to advancing its objectives”. He also underscored that cluster munitions “has inflicted untold suffering, extending far beyond immediate physical harm, to long-lasting psychological trauma, the destruction of livelihoods, and the crippling of economies.”

The Philippines is among the 124 countries that have joined the CCM. Since ratifying it in 2019, the Philippines has been actively promoting the accession of other countries to the Convention. In 2019 and 2020, the Philippines carried out activities to advance the universalization of the CCM, especially in the Southeast Asia region.

Cluster munitions can kill and injure a massive number of civilians and non- combatants, during and after armed conflicts. The CCM bans the use of these indiscriminate weapons, as well as their production, stockpiling, and transfer. Since the adoption of the CCM, more than 400 kilometers of contaminated land has been cleared of cluster munition remnants. Many States Parties have also destroyed the vast majority of their cluster munition stockpiles.

The Philippines’ presidency will be guided by the principles of prioritizing victim assistance and strengthening independent capacities of affected states to address the challenges posed by cluster munitions, while ensuring that the core principles of the Convention are safeguarded, at a crucial time since its adoption in 2008. The Philippines also intends to adopt a forward-looking agenda in view of the Convention’s Review Conference in 2026. END

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