UK prime minister, Gordon Brown, said today that Britain would scrap its entire arsenal of cluster bombs

by infomatique | May 19, 2008 at 11:16 am | 423 views | add comment | 0 recommendations

UPDATE:

Brown takes the lead in scrapping cluster bombs

The prime minister, Gordon Brown, said today that Britain would scrap its entire arsenal of cluster bombs and called on other countries to follow his lead.

Brown made the announcement after talks in Dublin concluded tonight on an international treaty aimed at a worldwide ban on the bombs that have killed and maimed hundreds of innocent civilians.

The prime minister said he hoped Britain's action would "break the logjam" and make an international agreement on banning the weapons possible.

He was praised by campaigners for a "major act of statesmanship".

UPDATE:

The first week of an international conference aimed at banning cluster munitions in Dublin has ended with France pledging to scrap nearly all its stockpiles.

Delegates from more than 100 countries at the 12-day gathering at Croke Park, are seeking to thrash out a wide-ranging pact that would completely outlaw the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions among signatories.

Yesterday, the Cluster Munition Coalition accused the US of attempting to weaken the treaty.

It is a great pity that the US, China and Russia decided not to take part.

Cluster munitions or cluster bombs are air-dropped or ground-launched munitions that eject a number of smaller submunitions ("bomblets"). The most common types are intended to kill enemy personnel and destroy vehicles. Submunition based weapons designed to destroy runways, electric power transmission lines, deliver chemical or biological weapons, or to scatter land mines have also been produced. Some submunition based weapons can disperse non-munition payloads, such as leaflets.

Cluster bombs are not specifically covered by any international legal instrument, although the general rules of international humanitarian law aimed at protecting civilians apply as they do to the use of all other weapons. An initiative by the Government of Norway launched an international treaty development process commonly known as the Oslo Process in February 2007 to prohibit cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians by 2008. According to the Cluster Munition Coalition, 84 governments are participating in the process including over half of the world's stockpilers and half of the producers.

Campaigners against cluster bombs say the main manufacturers and stockpilers of the munitions will be forced to accept a ban if one is agreed at a two-week conference which opened at Croke Park in Dublin today.

130 countries are working to agree a treaty that would be widely supported.

However, the weapons' main producers and stockpilers - including the United States, Russia and China - are against any such treaty move and are not represented at the conference.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio's Drivetime, Simon Conway of the campaigning group, Landmine Action, said he believed such countries would have to accept a ban.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs Michaél Martin opened the conference this morning.

Mr Martin said he is hoping for an ambitious outcome to the conference that would be widely supported and would set the international standard.

The Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, delivered a video message at the start of the conference, which is being attended by representatives from over 100 countries.

It is the largest international conference of its kind ever hosted by Ireland.

Efforts to ban the use, manufacture and trade of cluster munitions 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 kill people years after a conflict ends.

Some countries will lobby to exempt certain weapons or for a long transition period. Other countries that use cluster bombs such as the US, China, Russia and Israel will not be in attendance.

Grethe Ostern, joint head of the Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC) umbrella group, said: '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.'