Author(s):
Site Admin <webmaster2@icbl.org> .
Friday 06 June 2008
The Cluster Munitions Convention was adopted by 111 governments on Friday 30 May in Dublin, banning cluster munitions because of their unacceptable humanitarian consequences. The ICBL salutes this new Convention as yet another step towardsmaking our world safer by eliminating indiscriminate weapons that victimise civilians at the time of use and for generations after the end of conflicts.
The process that gave us the Cluster Munitions Convention was closely modelled on the so-called Ottawa Process that led to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which would get rid of antipersonnel landmines through both prohibiting their use and calling for the destruction of stockpiles, and addressing the humanitarian consequences of past use through clearance and survivor assistance.
Ten years on, the Mine Ban Treaty is entering a phase that will test the real determination of States Parties to continue to turn the words of the treaty into real change for affected communities.
Too few states are taking the necessary steps to concretely improve the lives of survivors and other persons with disabilities, as the Convention requests. Action plans very often lack concrete objectives and plans to achieve them. Survivors’ inclusion in shaping their own future by being associated with planning victim assistance at the national level is still almost non existent. Who is better placed than survivors, many of whom have become strong advocates, to help affected states understand what victim assistance means and what would make a change in their daily life?
As the first clearance deadlines approach in 2009, a disappointingly high number of States Parties have submitted requests for extensions, often for periods that appear longer than strictly necessary. The clearance deadline extension process is an important test for the credibility of the treaty. For requesting states it is an opportunity to show their commitment to fulfilling their obligations by submitting realistic but ambitious requests. For other States Parties entrusted with examining the requests, it is a chance to take collective responsibility for the treaty’s successful implementation. Examining States Parties must demand high standards and avoid granting “rubber stamp” approvals that would undermine the credibility of the treaty and let affected communities down.
Moreover, the three countries with 1 March 2008 deadlines for stockpile destruction – Belarus, Greece, and Turkey – have failed to destroy their large stocks, totalling more than 7 million mines. Since there is no possibility for an extension, they are now in violation of the treaty. This is the first time that States Parties with millions of mines still in stocks have missed their deadline and they currently have no projected end dates in sight. We urge States Parties to immediately send a clear message that the slipping of treaty deadlines cannot be allowed.
The Mine Ban Treaty showed the way for the negotiation of the new convention on cluster munitions -- it must also set an example of unwavering commitment to full implementation of all its obligations. Survivors and affected communities deserve no less.
