Slow and Steady: South Africa and the Convention on Cluster Munitions

South Africa is a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) and has indicated that ratification will soon be referred to Parliament. While the government has not disclosed the exact size of its cluster munition stockpile, it has acknowledged possessing obsolete munitions earmarked for destruction and is preparing a disposal plan. South Africa continues to engage in international disarmament forums, including the UN General Assembly and the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), while supporting a comprehensive ban on cluster weapons.

• South Africa is a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) and stated in June 2011 that ratification "will soon be referred to the Parliament for consideration," affirming a full commitment to the convention's provisions.
• The South African government has acknowledged having a "relatively small stockpile of obsolete cluster munitions" intended for destruction. As of July 2011, the Department of Defence began preparing a plan for the destruction of these munitions, including the method, timeframe, and estimated cost.
• South Africa's cluster munition holdings are believed to include the M2001 155mm artillery projectile produced by Denel, which contains 42 dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) submunitions. The country also acknowledged possessing TIEKIE aerial cluster bombs, though these were degraded for training purposes.
• South Africa is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). Although the National Assembly approved the ratification of CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war on 10 November 2010, the ratification instrument had not been deposited as of early August 2011.
• Africa is significantly impacted by cluster munitions, with nearly one-third of affected countries located on the continent, including Uganda, Angola, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Western Sahara.

APA

Dube, G. (2011). Slow and Steady: South Africa and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/slow-and-steady-south-africa-and-the-convention-on-cluster-munitions

Chicago

Dube, Gugu. Slow and Steady: South Africa and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Institute for Security Studies, 2011. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/slow-and-steady-south-africa-and-the-convention-on-cluster-munitions.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dube |first1=Gugu |title=Slow and Steady: South Africa and the Convention on Cluster Munitions |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2011 |url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/slow-and-steady-south-africa-and-the-convention-on-cluster-munitions |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dube2011slow, author = {Dube, Gugu}, title = {{Slow and Steady: South Africa and the Convention on Cluster Munitions}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2011}, url = {https://issafrica.org/iss-today/slow-and-steady-south-africa-and-the-convention-on-cluster-munitions}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }