Human Rights Groups Warn of Civilian Risks in US Cluster Munitions Deal

(MENAFN) A coalition of human rights organizations, anti-war groups, and Christian churches is urging the US government to halt its $210 million plan to purchase advanced cluster munitions from an Israeli state-owned manufacturer, citing “severe, foreseeable dangers” to civilians, according to reports.

In a letter shared with foreign policy outlets, the coalition emphasized that cluster munitions “disperse submunitions across broad areas, making it exceedingly difficult to confine their impact to lawful military targets.” The groups argued that expanding the US stockpile would place the country “dramatically out of step with civilian protection practices.”

“These weapons’ humanitarian impacts vastly outweigh any possible tactical benefit that they provide,” said Ursala Knudsen-Latta of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, one of the letter’s signatories. “Unfortunately, it is really sowing seeds of terror for generations to come anywhere they are used.”

The acquisition, first reported earlier this month, reflects a broader shift away from an international consensus that has long opposed the use and accumulation of cluster munitions. Research highlighting the persistent dangers of unexploded bomblets contributed to the adoption of a global treaty banning such weapons in 2010.

Although the US military stopped employing cluster munitions in 2009 and domestic production had ceased years ago, Washington has not ratified the treaty nor dismantled its existing stockpile, raising concerns among advocates about the renewed purchase.

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