Campaigners welcome signing of historic international treaty banning deadly cluster munitions  

Press release of December 3, 2008

New treaty also obligates governments to provide victim assistance and to clear contaminated land  

Oslo, Dec 3rd, 2008 - Today in Oslo, governments from around the world are signing the most significant disarmament and humanitarian treaty of the decade, banning the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions, and obligating them to provide victim assistance and to clear contaminated land. Signatories of the Convention on Cluster Munitions include many of the world`s producers, stockpilers and past users, as well as some of the most seriously affected states. Close to fifty foreign, defense and government ministers from around the world are signing the treaty, demonstrating the high level of political commitment to urgently rid the world of cluster munitions.  

 “This treaty shows what can be achieved when states and civil society act together,” said Co-Chair of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) Grethe Østern of Norwegian People’s Aid. “This is a victory because the treaty outlines clear obligations for states to help survivors, clear the land and destroy stockpiles so that the weapon can never be used again.”  

Like chemical, biological, and antipersonnel landmine conventions before, this treaty bans an entire category of weapons. For over 40 years cluster bombs have killed and injured civilians during and after conflict. Unexploded cluster munitions continue to kill and injure for days, months, even decades after conflict. Tens of thousands of civilians worldwide have been killed or injured by the weapon. On average, a quarter of all cluster bomb victims are children. The treaty will help ensure that survivors, including their families and communities, receive concrete and measurable victim assistance, including physical and psycho –social needs, equality, rights and national action plans.

CMC Spokesperson Branislav Kapetanovic said, “The development of this treaty has meant a lot to me and has given me a reason to live. Being able to fight against something that brought a lot of suffering into my life and left me without arms and legs, left me without hope”. Kapetanovic was injured in November 2000 while clearing NATO cluster submunitions in Serbia. ”For us here, this is not the end of our road: we still have to make sure the Treaty is implemented and monitored, and that funding is available to those in need,” he added.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions sets the highest standard to date in international law for assistance to victims and their communities. It obliges nations to destroy all stockpiles within eight years and to clear contaminated land within ten. States must also provide detailed annual transparency reports on progress towards meeting their legal obligations.    

“Countries have finally realized that today`s wars cannot be fought or won with cold war weapons – the sooner they are destroyed, the better,” said Thomas Nash, CMC Coordinator. “As of today, millions of these indiscriminate weapons will be destroyed and the world will be a safer place,” he added. A number of countries have already started destroying their stockpiles.  

Eighteen out of 26 NATO countries are signing the treaty, including the UK, France and Germany, as well as most African and Latin American countries, and some of the most contaminated nations, including Laos and Lebanon.  After Oslo, the treaty will remain open for signature at the UN in New York.  For the treaty to enter into force it must be ratified by 30 countries.  

“Like the landmine ban treaty, this treaty will stigmatize the use of the weapon by all countries, even if they have not yet signed the treaty, Nations such as the United States, Russia, and Israel will risk severe international condemnation if they ever use cluster munitions again,” said CMC Co-Chair Steve Goose, Director of the Arms division at Human Rights Watch. “This is a time to celebrate, but the work doesn’t stop here. It is time for countries to turn these binding words on paper into a reality on the ground,” he concluded.  

For further information, including interviews with cluster bomb survivors, former military, Nobel Peace Laureates and campaigners in every language from over 70 countries please contact:

Natalie Curtis: +44 (0)7515 575 174  Natalie(at)stopclustermunitions.org

Samantha Bolton: +47 92 21 53 85 or +41 79 239 2366, clustermunitioncoalition@gmail.com

Sabrina Montanvert (French) +47 46 50 03 13  or +33 66 424 3607,  S_Montanvert@yahoo.fr

The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) is an international coalition working to protect civilians from the effects of cluster munitions. The CMC has a membership of around 300 civil society organisations from more than 80 countries, and includes organisations working on disarmament, peace and security, human rights, victim/survivor assistance, clearance, women’s rights, faith issues and other areas of work. The CMC facilitates the efforts of NGOs worldwide to educate governments, the public and the media about the problems of cluster munitions and the solution.

_{Stand: 12/2008}