Abstract: The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions (‘CCM’) gives the first definition of cluster munition in an international treaty. Under Art. 2 (2) CCM, a cluster munition is ‘a conventional munition that is designed to disperse or release explosive submunitions each weighing less than 20 kilograms’. Cluster munitions present a special humanitarian challenge because they are area weapons designed to easily spread over a vast territory, making it more difficult to discriminate among targets and avoid civilian casualties during conflicts.