The cluster munition report maintains that civilians instead of opposing forces are often killed or harmed during munition usage as some of the bombs have delayed detonation devices, making them landmines.The report claims that not only are most of the munitions manufactured by Russia but also the spike in their usage did not occur until after the joint Russian-Syrian partnership of September 2015.
"The actual number is likely far higher", the report said.
"And, we found evidence that the Saudi Arabia coalition was using cluster munitions in civilian areas". Majority are free-falling which means that they are not guided towards a target.
A total of 343 people were killed in cluster munition attacks and 74 were killed by unexploded submunitions in 2015, the research revealed.
"Civilians made up 97% of all cluster munition casualties in 2015 where the status was known (388 civilians, 14 security forces, and 15 without recorded status)".
The sole American manufacturer of cluster bombs has stopped producing them, following pressure from worldwide rights groups which say the "indiscriminate and inhumane" US-made munitions were used by the Saudi military during airstrikes in Yemen.
The Syrian regime and Russian Federation are both not signatories of the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions that bans the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of cluster munitions.
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The last U.S. maker of cluster bombs will cease producing the controversial weapons, which are banned by most governments due to their capacity to kill or maim civilians. Seven kinds of cluster munitions were used in 19 attacks in Yemen between April 2015 and February 2016 as part of the Saudi-led coalition's campaign launched against Houthi rebels.
The convention, which came into force in 2010, also requires the destruction of stockpiles of cluster bombs and clearance of contaminated areas.
"The best way to ensure that cluster munitions don't harm civilians in Syria and Yemen is to stigmatise their use and press countries that are using them to stop the attacks", report editor Warenham said.Syria and Yemen accounted for the majority of the 417 deaths or injuries from cluster munitions worldwide a year ago.
The annual report, co-authored by a coalition of rights groups and NGOs, provides an overview of how countries are implementing the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of the weapons.
"Victims of these notoriously indiscriminate weapons deserve assistance and a better response than denials, dismissals, and obfuscation", said Mary Warenham, HRW's arms advocacy director and editor of the report.
The report was published ahead of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions that will be held in Geneva next week.
