Dear Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,

This is a request for information under the Official Information Act 1982.

On 22 December 2009 New Zealand ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions (https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetail...).

State parties to the Convention expressed the views that they were,
"Deeply concerned that civilian populations and individual civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflict,
Determined to put an end for all time to the to the suffering and casualties caused by cluster munitions a the time of their use, when they fail to function as intended or when they are abandoned,
Concerned that cluster munition remnants kill or maim civilians, including women and children, obstruct economic and social development, including through the loss of livelihood, impede post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction, delay or prevent the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, can negatively impact on national and international peace-building and humanitarian assistance efforts, and have other severe consequences that can persist for many years after use."

Article 1(c) of the Convention states that each party to the Conventions "undertakes never under any circumstances to...assist, encourage or induce anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State Party under this Convention.

Article 21 of the Convention states (inter alia):
"1. Each State Party shall encourage States not party to this Convention to ratify, accept, approve or accede to this Convention, with the goal of attracting the adherence of all States to this Convention.
2. Each State Party shall notify the governments of all States not party to this Convention, referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, of its obligations under this Convention, shall promote the norms it establishes and shall make its best efforts to discourage States not party to this Convention from using cluster munitions.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1 of this Convention and in accordance with international law, States Parties, their military personnel or nationals, may engage in military cooperation and operations with States not party to this Convention that might engage in activities prohibited to a State Party."

On 10 September 2024, New Zealand's Deputy Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva made a statement to the 12th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/media-and-re...).

This noted the use of cluster munitions in Ukraine, and that "The United States has transferred cluster weapons of various kinds from its own stockpile to Ukraine. These actions will have economic, social, and environmental consequences for years to come, including in hampering recovery efforts in places where they have been used."

It has been reported that both Russia and Ukraine have been using cluster munitions during their armed conflict.

Please provide me with the following information:

1) The dates on which New Zealand, pursuant to Article 21(2), notified the governments of Russia, Belarus, Iran, Ukraine and the United States of its obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

2) The dates on which New Zealand, pursuant to Article 21(2), communicated to the governments of Russia, Belarus, Iran, Ukraine and the United States in accordance with its obligation to "make best efforts to discourage States not party to this Convention from using cluster munitions."

3) Copies of all communications falling within 1 and 2 above, and the replies received.

4) The dates since October 2020 on which legal advice was requested on what New Zealand needed to do to meet its obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

5) Copies of all requests since October 2020 for legal advice on what New Zealand needed to do to meet its obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

6) The dates since October 2020 on which legal advice was provided on what New Zealand needed to do to meet its obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

7) Copies of all legal advice provided since October 2020 on what New Zealand needed to do to meet its obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

8) The dates on which, since October 2020, advice has been provided to the Ministers of (a) Disarmament and Arms Control and (b) Foreign Affairs that relate to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and New Zealand's obligations under that Convention with regard to the conflict in Ukraine.

9) Copies of all advice since October 2020 to the Ministers of (a) Disarmament and Arms Control and (b) Foreign Affairs that relate to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and New Zealand's obligations under that Convention with regard to the conflict in Ukraine.

10) The dates of all meetings and correspondence with the Ministry of Defence since October 2020 that relate to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and New Zealand's obligations under that Convention with regard to the conflict in Ukraine.

11) Copies of all meetings notes and correspondence with the Ministry of Defence since October 2020 that relate to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and New Zealand's obligations under that Convention with regard to the conflict in Ukraine.

12) The dates, since October 2020, of any meetings or correspondence any MFAT official has had with any member or representative of the government of the United Kingdom that included mention of either country's obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

13) The dates, since October 2020, of any meetings or correspondence any New Zealand government minister has had with any member or representative of the government of the United Kingdom that included mention of either country's obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Under section 16 of the Official Information Act, my preferences are (a) to receive a copy of the whole of each document (b) that the information is disclosed in a text searchable format, either Word or PDF, (c) that it does not have a watermark of ‘Released under the Official Information Act’ or similar across the text and (d) that it is sent to the email address from which the Ministry received this request.

If the Ministry decides that there is 'good reason' under the OIA to withhold any of the information I am requesting, then under section 19(a)(ii) of the OIA, I further request that the Ministry provide me with the grounds in support of each withholding reason cited for refusal and the public interest factors favouring disclosure that the Ministry considered.

If the volume of information within the scope of our request is such that the Ministry is considering refusal under section 18(f), or any clarification is needed, please consult with me before making your decision on our request.

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Ecclestone

Dear MFAT,

Thank you for your email of 24 September 2024.

Since the Ministry is proposing that the scope of an amended request should still include the substance of communications with other nations, any legal advice, the advice to ministers and the records of meetings with the Ministry of Defence and the British High Commission, this will necessarily mean that it will be handling the material that records the dates of those public records. It is therefore difficult to see how including in my request the separately specified dates on which communications were sent, advice requested and received, etc, will make a substantive difference to the Ministry's task in responding to my request.

On the other hand, if I agreed to remove elements 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12 from my request, MFAT may consider that it escapes the obligation to consider separately whether provision of those dates would cause any harm such that any of the withholding provisions might be triggered, or whether the public interest in disclosure outweighs any claimed harm.

I am puzzled by the Ministry's reference to 'manual location' of the information I am requesting, since I would have thought the Ministry's electronic information and records management system would index information both by reference to the 2009 Convention and by country, and by type of material (communication with another country, legal advice, advice to ministers, etc). Section 17(2) of the Public Records Act 2005 does, of course, require that 'Every public office maintain in an accessible form, so as to be used for subsequent reference, all public records that are in its control, until their disposal is authorised by or under this Act or required by or under another Act.'

I therefore do not agree to the Ministry's proposals for amending my request, and look forward to receiving its response.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Ecclestone