Exactly one month before a major international negotiation to ban cluster bombs, campaigners in over 50 countries worldwide are calling on governments to deliver a strong treaty with no exemptions, no loopholes and no delays. The Global Day of Action - a series of protests from Azerbaijan to Zambia - is urging governments to ensure the negotiations result in a treaty that will not only ban the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster bombs, but also include support for affected communities and clearance of contaminated land.

Desmond Tutu along with over 100 religious leaders from every major faith in the world has signed a public letter. Handicap International in France has gathered half a million petitions and former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney has made an appeal to the UK government to consider the human suffering caused by these unacceptable weapons. Campaigners in Germany are “bombing” Munich with bomb-shaped cards dropped from balloons, performance artists are taking to the streets in Barcelona and a candle lit ceremony in Lebanon will pay remembrance to the hundreds of innocent people maimed and killed by cluster bombs during and since the conflict in 2006.

Following an announcement by the New Zealand government that they would no longer invest in companies that manufacture cluster bombs, campaigners are staging a public protest outside the New Zealand Superfund to demand the policy take immediate effect.

Over 100 governments are expected to negotiate the ban at The Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions from 19th-30th May. It will be the most significant disarmament and humanitarian treaty of the decade, since antipersonnel landmines were outlawed in 1997. However a number of governments are calling for provisions that would weaken the treaty. Some are proposing exceptions to the ban that would allow them to keep their own questionable and discredited weapons. Others are suggesting a “transition period” that would allow continued use of the weapons for a number of years after they have been banned. The Cluster Munition Coalition, an international network of over 250 non-government organisations across 70 countries, including Human Rights Watch, Handicap International and Oxfam, is calling on governments to deliver the strongest treaty possible.

For more information, interviews, photographs and stories from survivors contact :

N a t a l i e   C u r t i s
Media and Communications Officer
International Cluster Munition Coalition
Email : Natalie@stopclustermunitions.org
Tel : +44 (0) 20 7820 0222

NOTES TO EDITORS :

What are cluster bombs ?

Cluster munitions are large weapons which are deployed from the air or from the ground and release dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions. Submunitions released by air-dropped cluster bombs are most often called "bomblets,” while those delivered from the ground are usually referred to as "grenades."

What's the problem with this weapon ?

Air-dropped or ground-launched, they cause two major humanitarian problems and risks to civilians. First, their widespread deployment means they cannot distinguish between military targets and civilians so the humanitarian impact can be extreme when the weapon is used in or near populated areas.

Secondly, many bomblets fail to detonate on impact and become de facto antipersonnel mines killing and maiming people long after the conflict has ended. These duds are however more lethal than antipersonnel mines; incidents involving submunition duds are much more likely to cause death than injury.

Who has used cluster munitions ?

At least 14 countries have used cluster munitions: Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Israel, Morocco, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Russia (USSR), Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, UK, US, and FR Yugoslavia. A small number of non-state armed groups have used the weapon (such as Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006). Billions of submunitions are stockpiled by some 76 countries. A total of 34 states are known to have produced over 210 different types cluster munitions. At least 24 countries have been affected by the use of cluster munitions including Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chad, Croatia, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Montenegro, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Uganda, and Vietnam.

Why is a ban on cluster munitions necessary ?

Simply put, cluster munitions kill and injure too many civilians. The weapon caused more civilian casualties in Iraq in 2003 and Kosovo in 1999 than any other weapon system.

Cluster munitions stand out as the weapon that poses the gravest dangers to civilians since antipersonnel mines, which were banned in 1997. Yet there is currently no provision in international law to specifically address problems caused by cluster munitions. Israel's massive use of the weapon in Lebanon in August 2006 resulted in more than 200 civilian casualties in the year following the ceasefire and served as a catalyst that has propelled governments to attempt to secure a legally-binding international instrument tackling cluster munitions in 2008.

What is the Oslo Process ?

In February 2007, forty-six governments met in Oslo to endorse a call by Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to conclude a new legally binding instrument in 2008 that prohibits the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians and provides adequate resources to assist survivors and clear contaminated areas. See : www.clusterconvention.org/

The CMC is an international network of over 250 civil society organisations in 60 countries committed to protecting civilians from the effects of cluster munitions. Members of the CMC network work together on an international campaign calling on governments to conclude a new international treaty banning cluster munitions by 2008. More information on the CMC is available online at www.stopclustermunitions.org/