All 110 State Parties agreed on a Political Declaration that condemns any use of cluster munitions by any actor and calls for those that continue to produce, stockpile, or use cluster munitions to cease immediately. They also adopted an Action Plan spelling out the measures to be taken over the next five years to resolutely move forward in meeting the objectives of the Convention, in particular with regard to the destruction of existing stockpiles, the clearance of contaminated lands and assistance to cluster munitions victims.  

Cluster munitions is a weapon containing multiple explosive submunitions delivered from the air or fired from the ground that scatter over a wide area. A significant number of these submunitions do not explode on impact and remain dormant on the ground. They go off when handled or disturbed, posing a deadly threat to civilians, including displaced people, long after the end of hostilities.

The Convention on cluster munitions, adopted in 2008 and ratified by Switzerland in 2011, aims at a complete and final ban of cluster munitions. So far, 123 countries have committed to its goals and 178 million sub-munitions were destroyed. Reports of widespread use of cluster munitions in Syria, Yemen and other conflict zones remain of particular concern; the Swiss presidency of the 2nd Review Conference issued a vibrant call to end the use of cluster munitions earlier this year.