“The record number of casualties in 2022, reported by the Monitor, serves as a tragic reminder that the use of cluster munitions continues to overwhelmingly affect civilians – more than 95% of casualties last year were civilians and 71% of them were children.
“MAG is active in most of the countries where incidents were recorded last year, and our teams witness every day the devastating impact that these explosive remnants of war have on local communities. The threat does not end when a conflict does – casualties still occur in Laos some 50 years after the last bomb was dropped, to give one example of the long-term legacy of cluster munitions.
“Our goal as an organisation remains resolute: to save lives and help ensure that future generations will not have to live with this deadly legacy.
“We call on all states not yet party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions to join more than 110 countries worldwide and make a commitment to put an end to the casualties and suffering caused by these weapons.”
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The Cluster Munition Monitor 2023 – which looks at the year 2022 – recorded over 1,170 cluster munition casualties in 10 countries worldwide - the highest number of casualties recorded since the Monitor began reporting in 2010. Read the full report here.
MAG recently published a statement on the indiscriminate use of weapons and the erosion of the principle of humanity. Read here.
Cover photo: children's playground hit by cluster munitions, Ukraine 2022.
Credit MAG / Sean Sutton
