Geneva: More than 1,200 people are known to have been killed or maimed in Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The true figure is likely much higher, but it could be years before an accurate number is known, said Loren Persi, team lead for the Cluster Munition Monitor report.

According to United Nations, Citing conflict in Syria and Yemen where it was clear that there were high numbers of casualties, this only came out years later, he told journalists in Geneva.

Schools have been among the targets in rebel-held areas, said the Monitor research specialist Michael Hart, highlighting their use in Chin state, Rakhine state, the Saigon region, and Kachin state, among others.

Submunitions, or bomblets, cause casualties and damage through blast impact, their incendiary effect, and fragmentation. According to UNIDIR, a single attack can involve thousands of individual explosive units which are usually spread over hundreds of square meters.

These munitions can be air-delivered or surface-launched, and can be used against armor, materiel, and personnel, UNIDIR explained, although it is very clear that civilians continue to bear the brunt of suffering from the cluster emission remnants, Mr. Persi insisted.

As in previous years, children accounted for a high proportion (42 percent) of casualties from the weapons in 2024, which they often find interesting, think are toys, or come across in play or on the way to school or when working in fields, Mr. Persi continued.

Funding cuts for humanitarian work have had a negative impact on countries impacted by the explosive weapons. These include Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon, which had made good progress in clearing contaminated land, but now really struggle with funding to get the clearance done, hence they slow down, said Katrin Atkins, senior researcher at Cluster Munitions Monitor.

Whole programs supported by USAID in the past, including one in Lao, have been discontinued, Mr. Persi noted. For decades, the program was essential in providing both first aid in remote areas where there are cluster mine victims, which was clearly there to address the legacy of the bombings of the 60s and 70s, he explained. But also, the entire rehabilitation program, including prosthetics, was cut and as far as we know, not re-established in any way.

In the last 15 years since the Convention on Cluster Munitions, just 10 countries have used the weapons and all of those are States not party to the international accord, the Cluster Munition Monitor states.

A total of 18 countries have now ceased production of cluster munitions. All former producers are now States Parties to the Convention, aside from Argentina. The report notes that 17 countries still produce cluster munitions or reserve the right to do so and none is a State Party to the Convention. They are: Brazil, China, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Israel, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Türkiye, and the United States.