A new report has stated that the victims of cluster bombs reached a new high last year - mainly due to the war in Ukraine.

The Canadian branch of an international humanitarian organization is calling on Ottawa to intensify pressure on its allies to stop the distribution and use of cluster munitions.

The humanitarian and inclusion organization (HI), an independent relief group operating in conflict areas around the world, responded to a new report from a monitoring agency that states that the number of people killed or injured by prohibited weapons in 2022 is greater than in any other year since then.

The annual assessment conducted by the Cluster Munition Monitor, released on Tuesday, indicated that 1,172 people were killed or injured by cluster bombs in 2022, most of them in Ukraine.

Seven other countries recorded the use of the weapons: Azerbaijan, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Myanmar, Syria, and Yemen.

For her part, Ann Delaurme, executive director of Humanity and Inclusion Canada, stated that there is no position that justifies the use of such weapons.

The report's release comes one week before the conference of the states parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (Oslo Convention), which will be held from September 11 to 14 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Canadian humanitarian and inclusion organization stated that the Canadian government has a special responsibility to condemn the use of the weapons and hold accountable the countries responsible for their use.

Cluster munitions have been prohibited under a treaty ratified nearly 13 years ago. 123 countries, including Canada, have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

The United States, Russia, and Ukraine have not signed the treaty.

The U.S. decision earlier this summer to supply Ukraine with cluster bombs became a topic of discussion at the recent NATO summit, where Canada - a strong supporter of the treaty banning cluster munitions - was in a delicate position trying to convince President Volodymyr Zelensky not to do so.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also walked a fine line publicly, refusing to criticize Ukraine, but stating that Canada would maintain its strong position against the use of [cluster munitions].

According to several sources, Trudeau specifically advised Zelensky during the mid-July summit against the use of such weapons - which have been widely condemned for the way they kill and injure civilians indiscriminately.

Ukraine has pledged that the munitions will only be used to dislodge large concentrations of Russian forces from fortified defenses while its troops launch a counter-offensive in the eastern and southern regions of the country. U.S. officials were quoted in July saying that the ammunition is being used effectively.

Signatory countries to the treaty commit not to encourage the use of cluster munitions, which spread small bomblets over wide areas when dropped from the air or fired from artillery.

The Canadian government strongly condemned Russia's use of munitions shortly after it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Also, during the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly stated that the U.S. decision to supply Ukraine with cluster bombs would not affect Canadian aid to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the opposition New Democrats insist that Canada must uphold its responsibilities under the treaty.

Heather McPherson, the party's foreign affairs critic, stated that we support Ukraine in every possible way - but not with illegal and prohibited weapons.