Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYR Macedonia) signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo on 3 December 2008. Upon signing, Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonijo Miloshoski assured other states that “Macedonia will take all necessary steps to ratify as soon as possible.”^[1] The minister also confirmed that FYR Macedonia does not use, produce, or stockpile cluster munitions.^[2]

While not an early supporter of the Oslo Process, FYR Macedonia attended the international preparatory conferences in Vienna in December 2007 and Wellington in February 2008, as well as the formal treaty negotiations in Dublin in May 2008. It also attended the Sofia Regional Conference on Cluster Munitions in September 2008.

FYR Macedonia was supportive of efforts to solve questions involving “interoperability” (joint military operations with states not party) during the negotiations in Dublin. It said this was not an excuse for countries to continue to use, produce, and transfer cluster munitions, but instead was an effort to help countries that have shown the political will to join the convention to continue to have practical cooperation with states not party to the convention.^[3]

FYR Macedonia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and ratified Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War on 19 September 2007. It has not been an active participant in the CCW discussions on cluster munitions in recent years.