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Cluster BombsOn December 3rd, 2008 governments from around the world signed the most significant disarmament and humanitarian treaty of the decade, banning the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions, and obligating them to provide victim assistance and to clear contaminated land. Cluster bombs (also referred to as cluster munitions) include cargo containers and submunitions. Fired, launched or dropped by aircraft or land-based artillery, the containers open and disperse bomblets or submunitions over a wide area, often resulting in very dense contamination. The bomblets are designed to pierce armour and can kill anyone within a range of 50 meters with its explosive lethal charge. A single cluster bomb strike can spread hundreds to thousands of bomblets over as much as one square kilometer - with no distinction between military or civilian targets. Cluster munitions also have a failure rate ranging from 5-30%. Those that do not explode on impact become explosive remnants of war. These 'dud' munitions become de facto landmines and must be treated and cleared as such. Throughout 2001-2002, 1,228 cluster bombs containing 248,056 submunitions were used in Afghanistan. In 2003, 13,000 cluster munitions containing an estimated 1.8 to 2 million submunitions were used in Iraq. According to the Cluster Munition Monitor, there were 16,816 cluster munition casualties confirmed globally as of the end of 2009. However, similar to landmine casualties, many have gone unrecorded and it is likely that the actual number is between 58,000 and 85,000. At least 23 states and three other areas are believed to be currently contaminated with cluster munition remnants while another thirteen or more additional states may still have a small level of contamination from past use of the weapon. As of August 2011, 109 countries that have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) since it opened for signature and 59 countries have ratified it. It entered into force as international law on August 1st 2010.
Like chemical, biological, and antipersonnel landmine conventions before, the Convention on Cluster Munitions bans an entire category of weapons. The Oslo treaty sets the highest standard to date in international law for assistance to victims and their communities. It obliges nations to destroy all stockpiles within eight years and to clear contaminated land within ten. States must also provide detailed annual transparency reports on progress towards meeting their legal obligations. What still needs to be done?The most critical next step is for the Convention on Cluster Munitions to become universal, binding, international law. For this to happen, we need as many countries as possible to ratify it as soon as possible – including Canada – to ensure these weapons never harm civilian again! Use our Write Now! E-tool now to send a message to your MP! We can absolutely solve this problem in our lifetime – but not without your help! Please ACT, GIVE or LEARN more today. Want to learn more? Click below! |
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