Cluster bomb ban treaty: 138 Nations Make Progress in Vienna - CMC Calls for Strongest Possible Treaty

The conference is part of the so-called Oslo Process launched in February when states agreed to conclude a new treaty next year banning cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.

“ With so many countries now supporting the process to ban cluster munitions and real progress on the key humanitarian issues we are more confident than ever that a strong ban treaty will be signed in 2008 – There is no turning back now,” said Thomas Nash, Coordinator of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC).

Over 140 civil society representatives from around 50 countries participated in the conference which spent three days discussing the draft treaty text at the midpoint of the Oslo Process. There was general consensus around the need for standardised and monitored assistance to victims and their families and communities as well as for obligations to clear contaminated areas and destroy stockpiles within a specified timeline. “Countries are really coming together around the obligations for clearance, stockpile destruction, victim assistance and international cooperation and now they need to do the same on the prohibition and how far it goes,” said Steve Goose, Co-Chair of the Cluster Munition Coalition.

The most contentious discussions at the conference revolved around the prohibition and definition of a cluster munition. The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), Norwegian People’s Aid and British Explosive Ordance experts issued a hard hitting report during the conference analysing field evidence from Lebanon that self-destructing mechanisms do not work in reality. While producers and stockpilers have claimed a 1-2% failure rate for these weapons, the evidence from Lebanon shows it is more like 10%.

Despite this new evidence some countries continued to call for exemptions for weapons with characteristics such as self-destruct mechanisms or a supposed 1% failure rate. Others called for a transition period where the banned weapons could still be used. Most of the countries making such proposals are stockpilers of cluster munitions, including many with self-destruct mechanisms. Countries seeking to weaken the new treaty in this way included CzechRepublic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Slovakia, Switzerland and the UK.

“ With this new evidence no country can credibly justify the use of these new generation self-destructing cluster munitions. Countries cannot put blind faith in data from producers – they need to look at hard facts,” said Grethe Ostern, Co-Chair of the CMC and co-author of the report. [1]”

At the same time as these countries sought to exempt certain cluster munitions, a number of stockpiler and past producer countries remained strongly in favour of a comprehensive ban. Norway and Belgium have national measures in place renouncing all cluster munitions and Austria approved a new law this week doing the same.

“ Austria’s new law banning all cluster munitions, including so-called self-destructing ones is clearly putting pressure on states to adopt a complete ban – particularly neighbouring Germany and Switzerland that stockpile the same new generation cluster munitions like the M85," said Judith Majlath, CMC’s representative in Austria.

There was also overwhelming support among developing countries for a comprehensive ban. A number of new countries expressed explicit support for the Oslo Declaration and the Oslo Process including: Equitorial Guinea, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Sudan, DR Congo, Seychelles, Kenya and Tajikistan.

Survivors of cluster munitions participated actively in the conference calling for the strongest possible treaty that would make a real difference to their lives . “We have lost our arms, our legs, our eyes and other parts of our bodies. How many more thousands of civilians need to be injured or killed for supporters of the so-called smart cluster munitions to understand how dangerous these weapons are?” said Branislav Kapetanovic, spokesperson for the CMC.

The focus now turns to Wellington where the process continues in February with negotiations expected to conclude in Dublin in May and a signing ceremony in Oslo, Norway later in the year. Non-governmental organisations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and UN agencies will participate extensively throughout the process. African countries are planning a regional meeting in March in Uganda to consolidate their position.

"Governments failed to provide evidence for the exceptions they want in the treaty and with so many countries calling for a comprehensive ban their position is no longer credible," said Simon Conway, Co-Chair of the Cluster Munition Coalition.

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Interviews: Samantha Bolton, mob. +4365034143 ,

Thomas Nash, CMC Coordinator, mob. +447711926730 ,

Interviews are also available from CMC campaigners in other languages including Arabic, German, Spanish and Portuguese

Notes to editors:

o Cluster munitions are weapons that can disperse hundreds of smaller submunitions – sometimes referred to as “bomblets” - over wide areas. They have indiscriminate wide area effects that kill and injure civilians during attacks and they leave severe and lasting humanitarian and development consequences from large quantities of post-conflict unexploded ordnance.

o The following states are participating actively in the Oslo Process, having supported the declaration or attended all the conferences: .

oDates for future Oslo Process conferences: Wellington 18-22 February; Dublin 19-30 May.

o At least 75 countries stockpile cluster munitions and 34 are known to have produced more than 210 types of cluster munitions. 14 states have used cluster munitions in at least 30 countries and territories.

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.

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For more information on CMC: www.stopclustermunitions.org and on CMC Austria: www.stopstreubomben.at

[1] “M85 An Analysis of Reliability”To link to the full report www.npaid.org/m85