07/25/2025
Thailand’s Airstrikes on Cambodian Civilians Using Cluster Bombs Are a Violation of International Law
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On July 25, Thai invading forces used cluster munitions on Cambodian territory. It is unimaginable that Thailand—a country that claims to uphold democratic principles—would resort to such weapons against Cambodia, resulting in the deaths of innocent civilians.
According to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which has 123 signatory states, these countries have agreed not to use, produce, transfer, or stockpile cluster munitions. Collectively, they have expressed strong opposition to the use of such weapons in armed conflict.
Governments of countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Spain, Austria, and numerous civil society organizations have firmly opposed the supply and use of cluster munitions in the Russia–Ukraine war.
Historically, in many conflicts, cluster munitions have had high failure rates, leaving thousands of unexploded submunitions scattered across land—posing long-term threats to human life and animals even decades later. Thailand, therefore, bears serious responsibility, as its cluster munition attacks deliberately targeted Cambodian civilians—an undeniable violation of international law and the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Thailand cannot escape international legal accountability. Its actions reveal not only territorial ambitions over Cambodian land but also a genocidal intent to exterminate the Cambodian people—representing a grave threat to global peace and humanity.
