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Serbia, Belgrade,
Thursday 27 September 2007
States affected by cluster munitions use will come together for the first time in Belgrade, Serbia, on 3 - 4 October 2007 to discuss key issues in developing a new treaty to ban these weapons. The Belgrade Conference on States Affected by Cluster Munitions is an initiative of the Government of Serbia, and aims to give a strong voice to those suffering from the impact of these weapons. Cluster munitions survivors and activists from affected areas will also be attending.
This is the latest in a series of regional and international meetings in the process - known as “Oslo Process” - aimed at a new international treaty prohibiting cluster munitions by 2008. The process has the participation of 80 countries, including major users, producers and stockpilers of the weapons as well as affected countries.
The list of affected states invited is: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chad, Croatia, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, Iraq,
Children play with cluster munitions in Sudan. Photo: P. Moszynski.
Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Montenegro, Russia (observer), Saudi Arabia, Serbia (host), Sierra Leone, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen. A number of interested states have also been invited: Austria, Belgium, Canada (Canadian International Development Agency), Czech Republic, Holy See, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, United Kingdom (Department for International Development).
Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) members from a dozen affected states – including Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Syria, Tajikistan and Uganda – will join Serbian activists and survivors in Belgrade to ensure that the protection of civilians is at the heart of the discussions. The CMC and will hold a series of information events on the day prior to the Conference opening.
Tuesday 2 October 2007
10.00 – 11.30 Cluster Munition Coalition Press Briefing
CMC representatives will discuss the purpose and expectations of the Belgrade conference.
Media Centre: Milentija Popovica 5 (Sava Centre), 11070 New Belgrade, Serbia
Tel: (+381 11) 220 69 00, Fax: (+381 11) 220 64 00.
14.00 – 17.00 CMC International (Civil Society) Forum
A series of international speakers will present different aspects of the cluster munitions problem and of the ongoing ban process.
Hyatt Hotel: Milentija Popovica 5, Belgrade - Tel: +381 11 301 1234 Fax: +381 11 311 2234
17.00 – 18.00 CMC Documentary Screening
From Lao to Lebanon: Towards a New Treaty.
Hyatt Hotel: Milentija Popovica 5, Belgrade - Tel: +381 11 301 1234 Fax: +381 11 311 2234
Thursday 4 October 2007
13.00 – 13.45 Press Conference
Representatives from the Government of Serbia and the Cluster Munition Coalition will announce the outcome of discussions.
Hyatt Hotel: Milentija Popovica 5, Belgrade - Tel: +381 11 301 1234 Fax: +381 11 311 2234
Interviews can be arranged with CMC spokespeople and representatives - Media contact: Simona Beltrami +39 333 7142251; Thomas Nash +44 7711926730 (international media); Jelena Vicentic + 381 11 244 33 96 and +381 63 8925 108(Serbian media). Online media resources and photos can be found by following the media link at http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/
Background
Cluster munitions have consistently caused severe and lasting harm and hardship to civilians. Dropped from aircraft or fired from artillery or ground rocket systems, cluster munitions open to disperse hundreds of explosive submunitions (bomblets) over a wide area. Civilians are killed and maimed both on impact and after attacks, as some of the bomblets inevitably fail to detonate and remain on the ground ready to explode when disturbed. Civilian cluster casualties continue to occur in Vietnam and Laos more than 30 years after these weapons were used. In Lebanon, where they were widely used during the war last year, they will continue to claim lives and limbs for years to come.
The process to ban these weapons was launched last February in Oslo, Norway, where 46 countries committed to conclude, by 2008, a treaty banning cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. This was followed by a conference in Lima, Peru, where the number of countries participating in the process rose to 75. In August, Malawi announced its support for the Oslo Declaration and a new treaty to ban cluster munitions. In September, four new Latin American countries participated in the Costa Rica regional conference and announced their support for the Oslo Process. There are now eighty governments participating in the Oslo Process.
Countries participating in the Oslo Process (affected countries - 11 - in bold)
Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Argentina, Australia,Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Canada, Burundi, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea Bissau, Greece, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Lao PDR, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, P anama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, UK, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zambia
