110 Countries Agree to Cluster Bomb Ban, Despite U.S. Pressure
Members of Congress Press for U.S. Action
Treaty includes strong victim assistance provisions

For immediate release: May 29, 2008
 
Contact Lora Lumpe, Coordinator, US Campaign to Ban Landmines
202-361-3028 or lora@fcnl.org


Washington, DC–More than half the world’s governments agreed Wednesday to ban the production, use, stockpiling and export of all existing cluster munitions. Meeting in Dublin, Ireland, representatives of 110 nations completed negotiations on a new international treaty that commits their governments to stop using these weapons and to destroy their existing stockpiles within eight years.

The U.S. government did not attend the negotiations and actively worked to undermine them. But in the end all other major NATO countries joined with the majority in agreeing to ban these weapons, which are designed to kill or maim every living thing in an area as large as two football fields. The vast majority of victims of cluster bombs have been civilians.

“The cluster bomb treaty is the first major arms control agreement in a decade,” said Lora Lumpe, coordinator of the US Campaign to Ban Landmines. “The majority of world governments have now rendered the use of cluster munitions unthinkable.”

The next steps in the United States, said Lumpe, will be to grow support in Congress for the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act, to persuade all presidential candidates to endorse the treaty negotiated in Dublin, and to challenge the perception in the U.S. military that these weapons are a legitimate part of the stockpile of a civilized nation.

“Despite U.S. meddling, the final treaty is quite strong,” said Human Rights Watch’s Steve Goose, a member of the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL) steering committee. “We will be watching very carefully to ensure that the countries that gathered here to ban cluster bombs can never deliberately assist those who have not and that they reject any foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions on their soil.”

The treaty also requires governments to clear existing cluster munition minefields and to provide adequate assistance to individuals and communities affected by cluster munitions. “The victim assistance provisions set a new precedent for survivor rights worldwide,” said Tracey Begley, a program officer with Survivors Corps and a member of the USCBL steering committee. “The treaty recognizes the human rights of victims and acknowledges that victims are not just the individual survivors, but also their families and communities that are affected.”

Read more on the treaty negotiations

Read the final text of the treaty (pdf)

Read a statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (VT) at the Treaty Negotiations

Read a letter from Senators Patrick Leahy and Diane Feinstein (CA) (pdf) to the Dublin negotiators