Abuja: International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), a coalition on disarmament, has hailed Nigeria for leading Africa in promoting a safer, conflict-free continent in line with the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Dr Mimidoo Achakpa, the Coordinator of IANSA Women Network in Nigeria (IANSAWNN), said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international treaty, bans the use, development, production, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions due to its disproportionate, long-lasting harm to civilians. Adopted in 2008 and entered into force in 2010, the treaty requires states parties to destroy existing stockpiles, clear contaminated areas, and provide assistance to victims.
Achakpa highlighted Nigeria’s role as a committed state party, emphasizing that the country had distinguished itself as the champion of the convention in Africa through several advocacy and humanitarian acts. Nigeria has advocated for the universalisation of the convention across Africa, mobilising ECOWAS and African Union platforms to encourage state parties to join.
‘Nigeria pushed for stronger victim assistance commitments, ensuring that survivor needs remain central in humanitarian disarmament debates. The country has contributed to clearance and mine action work on the continent, reinforcing Africa’s collective efforts to eliminate the threat of cluster munitions. Nigeria serves as a bridge-builder in multilateral fora, voicing the concerns of conflict-affected communities and emphasizing Africa’s stake in upholding humanitarian norms,’ Achakpa stated.
Achakpa also noted that Nigeria’s leadership at the 2025 meeting of states, scheduled to take place in September in Geneva, would be crucial. She mentioned that Nigeria’s presence would shape discussions on Lithuania’s withdrawal, reinforcing the treaty’s credibility, and charting the path toward a cluster munition-free world. Lithuania’s unprecedented withdrawal in March marks the first time a state left a humanitarian disarmament convention.
Furthermore, Achakpa emphasized that Nigeria’s leadership would support grassroots and gender-inclusive approaches, which strengthens the implementation of treaties by addressing victims’ needs and ensuring that policies are responsive. Nigeria’s combined state leadership and civil society activism represent a valuable model in Africa for upholding the convention’s norms through ratification, domestic implementation, advocacy, and support.
Achakpa raised the alarm about troubling setbacks threatening to weaken the international norm established by the convention, calling for immediate attention. She noted that in 2024, state parties destroyed more cluster munition remnants than in any of the preceding five years, releasing over 100 square kilometers of land for safe civilian use. To date, nearly 1.5 million cluster munitions containing 179 million submunitions have been destroyed, and no state party has used, acquired, or transferred these weapons since joining the treaty.
However, ongoing use by state parties, particularly Russia and Ukraine, as well as Myanmar and previously Syria, has resulted in devastating civilian harm, with more than 1,200 casualties in Ukraine since February 2022. Achakpa added that U.S. transfers of cluster munitions to Ukraine, including through the territory of state party Germany, have further challenged the treaty’s credibility.
She expressed concern over the growing global stigma surrounding cluster munitions and emphasized the critical need for stronger victim assistance, noting persistent gaps in access to medical care, rehabilitation, and psychosocial support, particularly in rural and conflict-affected areas. Achakpa called for a renewed global commitment to accelerating universalisation, strengthening survivor support, and resisting any erosion of the convention’s core humanitarian achievements.
She urged civil society actors not to relent in bridging gaps between treaty obligations and on-the-ground realities, especially in conflict or post-conflict settings where clearance, victim assistance, legal reforms, and awareness-raising are needed.
