Author(s):
Site Admin <webmaster2@icbl.org> .
Monday 26 March 2007
On 15 March in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) held the first regional forum on cluster munitions in Southeast Asia.
Deputy Prime Minister Sok An announces Cambodia's support for the process to ban cluster munitions. Photo: K. Derlicka
The forum was preceded - one day earlier - by the announcement made by Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister Sok An that his country would support a new treaty banning cluster munitions.. Cambodia’s declaration came three weeks after the launch in Oslo of a process to negotiate a new international treaty prohibiting cluster munitions that cause unacceptable humanitarian harm.
The event gathered governments - Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Afghanistan, Jordan, Japan, Austria, Canada, Germany, and Norway – as well as UN agencies, the ICRC, and non-governmental organizations to raise awareness on the impact of cluster munitions in the region of Southeast Asia and globally, and to secure regional support for the new international process aimed at achieving a legally binding instrument on cluster munitions.
Special focus was placed on the region of Southeast Asia, with Lao PDR being the most cluster munitions-affected country in the region, and probably in the world. Representatives of Laos presented the scope of the problem, including national response and challenges related to clearance and victim assistance. Based on the information provided by the National Regulatory Authority, 15 out of 17 provinces are still affected after the 1960s-70s US bombing campaigns, with an estimated amount of over 2 million tons of cluster munitions dropped on the country.
The human impact of cluster munitions on the national, regional and global scale was presented by Handicap International. Based on their findings, 98% of victims of cluster munitions are civilians and the vast majority – 67% - of the accidents involving cluster munitions occur during livelihood activities.
Norway presented the background of the Norwegian initiative and the outcomes of the Oslo conference, which launched a process leading to a new treaty on cluster munitions. It congratulated Cambodia for supporting the process and invited other countries, in particular those from the region, to join and to attend the next intergovernmental conference on cluster munitions, which will take place in Lima, Peru, in May 2007.
A UNDP representative also welcomed Cambodia’s decision and recalled the UN Secretary’s General appeal for states to reduce the effects of cluster munitions on civilians. As UNDP operates in most of the countries affected by cluster munitions, including Lebanon, the representative delivered a brief overview of the impact of cluster munitions after the conflict in summer 2006, underlining its long-term effects for development, and in particular for the millennium development goals.
A legal approach toward the indiscriminate use of cluster munitions was presented by the ICRC delegate, who gave an overview of the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL) relevant to cluster munitions, stating that their use can imply serious violations of IHL.
CMC and ICBL representatives gave a global overview of the problem of cluster munitions, including production, stockpiling, transfer and use of the weapon around the world. Steve Goose, Co-Chair of the CMC Steering Committee and member of the ICBL Management Committee, also discussed opportunities and obstacles in banning cluster munitions, underlining that 17 producers and 27 stockpilers of these weapons have already supported the Oslo Declaration, but a more diverse core group of countries and better organized civil society campaigns were needed for a dynamic development of the process.
Cambodioa: a young cluster munitions survivor. Photo: HI/Fatal Footprint
Cambodia stated that it was very pleased the first regional event on cluster munitions was held in Phnom Penh and assured of its support and active role in the process to ban cluster munitions. At the same time it expressed the hope that other countries form the region would join the process soon.
The Forum was followed by an NGO session with members of the ICBL and other organizations from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, and Thailand, who discussed regional and national campaigning strategies on cluster munitions.
The Cambodian Campaign to Ban Landmines played a key role in organizing the Forum and turning it into a success.
