Cluster Bomb Convention signed in Oslo

An important landmark convention that bans the use of cluster bombs has been signed during a special ceremony in Oslo.

The Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern travelled to the Norwegian capital and signed the convention on behalf of Ireland.

Ireland is one of the - so far - 108 countries who support the international convention, which aims to prohibit the use of weapon systems that disperse large numbers of sub-munitions.

Dropped from aircraft or fired from artillery guns, cluster bombs explode in mid-air to randomly scatter hundreds of so-called 'bomblets', which are miniature mines and can be as small as 8 cm in size.

A certain percentage of the bombs do not explode on impact and remain a threat to soldiers and civilians alike, often long after a conflict has ended.
The small 'bomblets' are an even more serious menace, as they can remain undetected on or in the ground for a long time.

Thousands of civilians who live in former war zones have been killed or seriously wounded by them. Many of those injured are children, as cluster bombs are often mistaken for toys.

The campaign group Handicap International estimates that some 100,000 people have been killed or injured by cluster bombs since 1965.
A number of victims and relatives of the victims of cluster bombs travelled to Oslo as well, to support the treaty and to call for more countries to sign.

However, three of the world's largest producers and stockpilers of cluster munitions - the USA, Russia and China - still refuse to sign the convention.
So is Israel, which dropped more than a million bomblets on Lebanese cities in July and August 2006, an act of unprovoked and criminal aggression that has been condemned by the UN and many countries around the world, but keeps killing and wounding Lebanese civilians almost on a daily basis.

The convention to ban cluster munitions was debated and eventually agreed on during a twelve-day-long conference in May of this year in Dublin. (see my entry of May 19th)
It was the largest international event of its kind ever hosted by Ireland, and the deliberations received much media attention in Ireland and many other countries.

The convention to ban cluster munitions is a large step forward towards world peace, and one hopes that under the up-coming presidency of Barack Obama the USA will join the rest of the civilised world and sign the document as well.

The Emerald Islander

Cluster Bomb Conference opens in Dublin

Today an important international conference, which is aimed at securing a treaty to ban cluster bombs, has opened in Dublin.

Michaél Martin (photo left), Ireland's new Minister for Foreign Affairs, gave the opening address at Croke Park this morning and welcomed delegates from 110 countries. He said that he hopes for an ambitious outcome to the two-week conference that would be widely supported and set the international standard.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (right) delivered a video message to the conference, emphasising its importance in finding new ways for a more peaceful future.

The international efforts from governments, organisations and individuals to ban the use, manufacture and trade of cluster bombs and ammunitions have gained momentum over the past year. It follows widespread revulsion about the impact of these weapons that open in mid air and randomly scatter dozens of individual bomblets over a large area. They can remain hidden on the ground and kill people even years after a conflict ends.

Various types of cluster ammunitions are regularly used by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan. (The photo on the left shows an American B-1 strategic bomber dropping a whole load of them.) And one of the most ruthless and atrocious users of cluster bombs is Israel.
During the (unprovoked and illegal) month-long Israeli attack on Lebanon in July and August 2006 more than a million of the bomblets were dropped on Lebanese soil by Israeli aircraft, most of them in highly populated areas of the capital Beirut.
They have caused the death of many Lebanese, injured a great many more, and no one knows how many of them remain still undetected on the ground, as permanent peril for innocent people.

Some countries will lobby to exempt certain weapons, or for a long transition period. But it is most significant that the four countries that are the main users and producers of cluster bombs - the USA, China, Russia and Israel - have decided not to send any delegation to the conference at all.
Well, this boycott of a ground-breaking conference might backfire on them politically in the future. Even though the four abstaining countries are quite powerful, they will not be able to stand against a clear and united action from the rest of the world.

Grethe Ostern, joint head of the international Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC) umbrella group, said this morning: "Governments have been talking about the dangers of cluster bombs for years. More delays mean more injuries and death for ordinary people. We have a unique opportunity to ban cluster bombs in Dublin. It is now or never."

The conference, which is scheduled to continue for two weeks, is the largest international event of its kind ever hosted by Ireland.

The Emerald Islander