Panama

The Republic of Panama signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo on 3 December 2008. Panama’s ambassador stated that Panama hopes to be among the first 30 states to ratify and is committed to implementation of the convention. He also said Panama already has a law in place that prohibits weapons such as cluster munitions.^[1] Panama is not believed to have ever used, produced, or stockpiled cluster munitions.

Panama first participated in the Oslo Process at the Lima conference in May 2007. It subsequently attended the Vienna conference in December 2007. While Panama did not participate in the Wellington conference in February 2008, on 28 April 2008 it endorsed the Wellington Declaration, indicating its intention to participate in the formal treaty negotiations in Dublin on the basis of the draft treaty text. Panama also participated in the regional conferences hosted by Costa Rica, Mexico, and Ecuador.

Panama played an active role during the Dublin negotiations in May 2008 and described the conclusion of a legally binding instrument on cluster munitions as a political priority. It stressed the need to focus on the humanitarian aspects, and worked to strengthen the victim assistance provisions in the draft convention.^[2] Panama called for an effective convention with “no exemptions or loopholes.”^[3] Panama opposed the inclusion of a transition period during which states could still use cluster munitions, calling this “against spirit of convention.”^[4] It expressed support for 20 ratifications to trigger entry into force, not a larger number, so that the convention could take effect as quickly as possible.^[5]

Panama is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and ratified Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War on 16 August 2004. Panama has not participated actively in the CCW discussions on cluster munitions in recent years.