Human Rights Watch Urges US to Block Transfer of Cluster Munitions from Turkey to Ukraine
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch has called on the US Congress to block the transfer to Ukraine of cluster munitions that have been stored in Turkish depots for decades. For re-export, Ankara needs Washington's permission, as the weapons are of US origin or were manufactured under US license.
According to HRW, the proposed $256 million deal involves the sale to Ukraine of all 12 Turkish M270 multiple launch rocket systems and three types of cluster munitions.
The possible package includes:
- 70 M39 ATACMS ballistic missiles, each containing 950 M74 submunitions;
- 2,524 M26 rockets with 644 M77 cluster elements each;
- 47,000 203mm M509A1 artillery shells, each carrying 180 M42 submunitions.
In total, these munitions contain over 10 million explosive elements. A significant portion of the proposed weapons was manufactured more than 30 years ago. In particular, the relevant artillery shells were removed from US Army service as early as 1994, along with the howitzers for which they were designed.
On August 6, the US State Department notified Congress of Turkey's request. The letter stated that the US government is willing to allow the transfer, as Ankara seeks to dispose of old stockpiles and direct resources toward modernizing its armed forces.
The State Department also emphasized that Ukraine wants to acquire these systems to enhance its firepower capabilities in countering the Russian invasion and is already using similar munitions.
Human Rights Watch believes that due to their age, limited accuracy, and potentially high failure rate, such munitions will pose a long-term danger to civilians. Cluster elements that do not explode immediately can remain hazardous for many years, effectively turning into anti-personnel mines.
"Congress can still stop this shortsighted and dangerous transfer", said Nicole Widdersheim, deputy director of HRW's Washington office.
The US Congress can block the deal with a joint resolution of disapproval. However, it is currently unknown whether the Donald Trump administration made a special exception to the existing moratorium on the export of cluster munitions.
In 2023-2024, the Joe Biden administration transferred cluster munitions to Ukraine at least seven times, using the authority to make an exception for US national security reasons. The volumes of these supplies were not officially disclosed.
Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and Turkey have not joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans their use, production, stockpiling, and transfer. Russian forces have repeatedly used cluster munitions during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including against populated areas.
Based on materials from: Human Rights Watch, Convention on Cluster Munitions
