Oslo - A global ban on the use of cluster bombs blamed for
maiming and killing thousands of civilians moved closer to reality
Wednesday with the formal signing ceremony of a treaty banning the
weapons.
The treaty, which was negotiated in Dublin in May, bans the
production, use and trade of cluster munitions. The Convention on
Cluster Munitions will enter into force when ratified by 30 nations.
Cluster weapons - criticized for carrying a high risk of maiming
or killing civilians - can be launched from the air or via artillery
shells and can disperse hundreds of bomblets over a target area.
Children are often victims of the weapons since they sometimes
mistake the so-called bomblets for toys.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg opened the conference,
with delegates from over 100 countries assembled in Oslo City Hall,
the venue for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
In his speech, Stoltenberg paid special tribute to victims of the
weapons.
He later told reporters that he and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr
Store hope to discuss the issue of cluster munitions with incoming US
President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The United States was not among the signatories. Nor were other
major producers and users of cluster bomb munitions, such as Russia,
China, Israel, India and Pakistan.
In all, 18 of the 26 NATO member states, including Germany and
Norway, backed the treaty.
During speeches, delegates signed the treaty in an adjacent room.
Early signatories included Lebanon, Peru, New Zealand, Zambia, and
Mexico.
Speakers included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
Thongloun Sisoulith of Laos, who said the treaty was 'a historic
milestone' and would protect 'innocent people from being subjected to
the scourge of cluster munitions.'
Laos is one of the countries most impacted by cluster munitions,
he said, noting that during the Indochina war some 3 million tons of
bombs were dropped on Laos. A third of those did not explode
initially.
In recent decades, Laos has registered some 300 casualties a year
from munitions and unexploded bombs, he said. Those account for
'about half of all confirmed cluster munition victims' worldwide.
Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakosone noted that Japan,
since 1998, had spent 300 million dollars on assisting 38 countries
to clear mines and ordinance. Nakoson said the money had also been
used to aid victims.
Steve Goose of Human Rights Watch, and co-chair of the Cluster
Munitions Coalition, which has pushed for the ban, highlighted the
need to ensure that countries do not purchase cluster munitions and
then stockpile or transfer via other states.
The movement to ban cluster munitions has been compared to the
International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which won the 1997 Nobel
Peace Prize. However, the cluster munitions treaty was negotiated
much faster.
The use of the internet, e-mail lists and networks among various
governments, humanitarian groups, non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) and UN agencies was credited as having played a key role in
mobilizing support for the ban and resulting in the treaty.
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