Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday reported that the Iranian government has repeatedly used “inherently indiscriminate cluster munitions” from ballistic missiles in attacks on Israel since the Iran-Israel conflict of February 28. According to HRW, at least four civilians have been killed in the repeated strikes, which violate the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions 1949, Customary International Humanitarian Law (CIHL), and other international laws.
“Iran’s use of cluster munitions in populated areas in Israel pose a foreseeable and long-lasting danger to civilians,” said Patrick Thompson, crisis, conflict, and arms researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Cluster munition bomblets are dispersed over a wide area, making them unlawfully indiscriminate in violation of the laws of war.”
Cluster munitions are a form of explosive weapon that releases smaller submunitions (often called bomblets). It is designed to break open in mid-air and randomly disperse the smaller explosives over a wide area. As a result, they are inherently indiscriminate because the scattered explosives do not distinguish between military personnel and civilians, making it nearly impossible to avoid civilian casualties when they are deployed in densely populated areas. Numerous submunitions often fail to explode on impact, leaving dangerous “duds” that act similarly to landmines. They can also remain in the ground for long periods and continue to pose a grave threat to civilians long after the conflict ends.
“The Israeli government said at least 16 civilians have been killed in Israel and 4 in the West Bank as a result of missile fire. Nine of the victims in Israel were killed in a single ballistic missile strike on the town of Beit Shemesh on March 1, including 3 children,” HRW said.
Article 51(4) of the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions 1949 prohibits indiscriminate attacks against civilians “unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities.” The section defines indiscriminate attacks as those not or cannot be directed at a specific military objective. Rule 1 of CIHL similarly provides that parties to a conflict must distinguish civilians from combatants, and that attacks must not be directed at civilians.
These protections exist to ensure the safety and security of civilians and other protected parties in times of war and all countries affected by violent conflicts. If countries are not held accountable for actions that put civilians at risk of grave harm and that run counter to the objectives of international law, many innocent civilians will be deprived of the rights and protections that treaties like the Geneva Convention guarantee them.
Notably, HRW wrote to the Iranian government on March 25 concerning the use of cluster munitions, but no response has been received at the time of writing.