Lithuania quits cluster bomb ban treaty despite outrage

Lithuania quits cluster bomb convention due to Russia fears, drawing criticism from human rights groups.

Lithuania on Thursday (March 6, 2025) quit an international convention banning cluster bombs, citing security concerns over neighbouring Russia in a move that has drawn criticism from human rights groups.

The formerly Soviet-ruled Baltic state of 2.8 million people has also signalled its intention to leave another international treaty prohibiting the use of anti-personnel land mines.

NATO member Lithuania has said it wants to strengthen its defences following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, fearing it could be next if Moscow succeeds.

But Amnesty International has called the decision “disastrous” and Human Rights Watch said it was “alarming”, with both organisations warning that it could put civilian lives at risk.

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The Lithuanian Parliament voted to leave the cluster munitions convention last July, but the country had to wait six months after submitting exit documents to the United Nations (UN) for the decision to take full effect.

It is the first country to leave the convention, which was adopted in 2008, and the first European Union country to leave a multilateral arms regulation agreement. Russia and Ukraine are not members of the convention and have both used cluster bombs in their three-year-long war.