Read more about the article Article 21 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions: Undermining the Cluster Prohibition?
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Article 21 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions: Undermining the Cluster Prohibition?

A diplomatic conference leading to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CoCM) was held on 30 May 2008 with the aim of banning the use of cluster munitions for all countries that ratified the Convention. Currently, 111 states are parties to the Convention and 12 are signatories. Despite the high number of participants in the treaty, success remains relative as some key major powers including the United States and Russia are missing. Furthermore, there is an important nuance reflected in the treaty concluded in Article 21, which explains that parties to the treaty are allowed to cooperate militarily with states that do use these weapons that are prohibited by the Convention (Convention on Cluster Munitions, 2008). Why is there controversy regarding the use of cluster munition and what are the consequences of Article 21 CoCM?

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26 July 2023
Read more about the article NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) Becomes Operational
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NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) Becomes Operational

On June 19th, 2023, NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) became operational (NATO, 2023a). DIANA is a platform which brings together representatives from state governments, private industry and academia to help innovators and businesses design start-ups and devise common standards to capitalise on emerging and disruptive technologies in accordance with NATO’s principles of responsible use, ranging from lawfulness and accountability to traceability and governability (DIANA, n.d.).

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24 July 2023
Read more about the article Playing the Long Game: Hungarian Parliament Continues to delay Sweden’s NATO Accession Bid
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Playing the Long Game: Hungarian Parliament Continues to delay Sweden’s NATO Accession Bid

On 28 June 2023, the Hungarian Parliament’s House Committee rejected a proposal to schedule a weekly plenary vote ratifying Sweden’s NATO membership bid (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2023). Incidentally, this is the final week of the chamber’s spring session, meaning that Parliamentarians will not return until the ordinary autumn sessions start in late August or early September. Therefore, the only chance to vote on Stockholm’s accession to the alliance is through an extraordinary session, which may only convene upon a motion by the President, the Government or one-fifth of the Parliament’s members (Hungarian National Assembly, n.d.).

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14 July 2023
Read more about the article Reshaping Collective Defence Plans and Addressing Open Questions: How NATO is Approaching the Vilnius Summit
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Reshaping Collective Defence Plans and Addressing Open Questions: How NATO is Approaching the Vilnius Summit

On July 11th and 12th, 2023, NATO heads of state and government are convening in Vilnius, Lithuania, for the Alliance’s annual summit, which is very likely to prove a watershed moment in NATO’s recent history for several reasons. Read further to discover

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10 July 2023
Read more about the article Turmoil in Kosovo
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Turmoil in Kosovo

On 29 May 2023, Serb protesters clashed with troops of the NATO-led mission in Kosovo* (KFOR) after demonstrators attempted to force their way into a government building in Zvecan, located in the Serb-majority northern part of the territory (Bytyci, 2023a). The clashes resulted in approximately 30 KFOR peacekeepers suffering injuries (Bytyci, 2023a). Prior to the incident, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic ordered, on 26 May, an urgent movement of troops to the border with Kosovo after ethnic Serbs had clashed with local police in the country (Al Jazeera, 2023).

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19 June 2023