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Vietnam Landmine Survivors Urge Cluster Bomb Ban
Thirty-three years after the end of the Vietnam War, landmine survivors in Vietnam are pressing their government to sign a groundbreaking treaty banning the use of cluster bombs.
More than 100,000 Vietnamese have been maimed or killed by unexploded munitions since 1975. As a result, Landmine Survivors Network-Vietnam (LSN-Vietnam) has launched a campaign asking government officials to take a strong stand by signing the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
The Convention was adopted by 107 nations in May at a meeting in Dublin, Ireland, and will be formally signed in December in Oslo, Norway. Countries that ratify the Convention pledge to never use cluster bombs, to stop developing and producing the weapons, and to never transfer the weapons to anyone else. Signatories will have six years to destroy existing stockpiles of the weapons. The treaty also calls for international cooperation to help those affected by cluster bombs and to clear unexploded bombs within five years.
"The signing of the cluster munitions treaty will be beneficial for our country, especially our people, because they've been most affected by cluster munitions," said Kim-Hoa Nguyen, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at LSN-Vietnam. "Hopefully we will be able to obtain international cooperation for victim assistance and mine clearance, which will be very helpful for our survivors, their families, and our communities."
LSN-Vietnam is a branch of Survivor Corps (the former Landmine Survivors Network), and was an influential advocate for victim assistance at the Dublin meeting. Survivor Corps is a partner of The Advocacy Project (AP), and AP recruited Peace Fellow Chi Vu to volunteer with LSN-Vietnam this summer.
Cluster bombs are air-dropped or ground-launched weapons that eject a number of smaller "bomblets." Because the bombs release many bomblets over a wide area, they can kill or maim civilians long after a conflict has ended. Unexploded bomblets are costly to locate and remove.
Vietnam has never produced, stockpiled, or used cluster munitions, but it has felt the bombs' devastating effects. According to the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Fund, about 104,000 Vietnamese have been killed or injured by leftover wartime explosives since 1975. Thirty percent of the casualties were caused by cluster bombs. In the past two years in Quang Tri province alone, 38 percent of accidents were caused by cluster bombs, with at least 11 people killed or injured.
LSN-Vietnam is working with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH) on a campaign urging the government to sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Between now and November, the campaign will hold two workshops to distribute information about the treaty to survivors, diplomats, government officials, and the media. Ms Vu helped the group secure $3,000 in funding for the workshops.
The campaign also plans to produce a short film documenting the effects of cluster bombs in Vietnam, and will drive a "Ban Bus" through the country in November to raise awareness.
For now, Vietnamese government officials remain neutral on the cluster munitions treaty, saying they are still studying the Convention and considering joining it. However, the government has emphasized that it supports international humanitarian efforts to help communities and individuals affected by cluster bombs.
Some of the world's main producers and stockpilers of cluster bombs, including the United States, Russia and China, have so far refused to sign the treaty. Thirty-three years after the end of the Vietnam War, landmine survivors in Vietnam are pressing their government to sign a groundbreak... more -
Russia use cluster bombs killing 11 civilians
Russia has used cluster bombs during its incursion this week into Georgian territory, the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) alleged.
The alleged cluster-bomb strikes took place Tuesday in Ruisi, a town in Georgia's Kareli district, and in Gori, a Georgian city near the border with the breakaway region of South Ossetia, where the conflict with Russia broke out on August 7.
In all, at least 11 civilians were killed and dozens wounded in the two attacks. The Gori strike killed Dutch journalist Stan Storimans, seriously wounded Israeli journalist Zadok Yehezkeli and damaged an armoured car used by the Reuters news agency.
At a conference in May, 107 countries agreed to ban cluster munitions. Neither Russia nor Georgia participated in the talks. Russia has used cluster bombs during its incursion this week into Georgian territory, the non-governmental organization Human Rights W... more -
111 countries sign ban on cluster bombs - US refuses
111 countries have signed a comprehensive ban on the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs, concluding a 12-day meeting on the issue in Dublin. Notably absent from the list of signatories was the US — the largest cluster bomb manufacturer in the world—as well as military heavyweights Israel, Russia, China, India and Pakistan. Cluster bombs are widely criticized as being disastrous to civilian populations both during and after war time, as fallen but unexploded bomblets can remain active and potentially lethal for decades. 111 countries have signed a comprehensive ban on the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs, concluding a 12-day m... more
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Once again, we can't practice what we preach.
So we don't want certain nations to develop nuclear weapons, but want to be able to have any weapons we want. I understand the whole "defense" argument. I saw the episode of The Simpsons in which they get rid of the guns and then are taken over by those creatures and have no weapons to fight them off with. However, I think that just because they are the most effective weapons (cluster bombs) for destruction doesn't mean you should implement them in every attack, which is pretty much what we (the USA) do with cluster bombs.
Like I said I'm not saying we shouldn't have weapons, just in case, but we also shouldn't act like there is an imminent threat right around the corner 24/7, because when you adopt such thinking, you invite such occurrences. So we don't want certain nations to develop nuclear weapons, but want to be able to have any weapons we want. I understand the wh... more -
The Associated Press: 111 nations, but not US, adopt cluster bomb treaty
Chief negotiators of a landmark treaty banning cluster bombs predicted Friday that the United States will never again use the weapons, a critical component of American air and artillery power.
The treaty formally adopted Friday by 111 nations, including many of America's major NATO partners, would outlaw all current designs of cluster munitions and require destruction of stockpiles within eight years. It also opens the possibility that European allies could order U.S. bases located in their countries to remove cluster bombs from their stocks.
The United States and other leading cluster bomb makers — Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan — boycotted the talks, emphasized they would not sign the treaty and publicly shrugged off its value. All defended the overriding military value of cluster bombs, which carpet a battlefield with dozens to hundreds of explosions.
But treaty backers — who long have sought a ban because cluster bombs leave behind "duds" that later maim or kill civilians — insisted they had made it too politically painful for any country to use the weapons again.
"The country that thinks of using cluster munitions next week should think twice, because it would look very bad," said Espen Barth Eide, Deputy Defense Minister of Norway, which began the negotiations last year and will host a treaty-signing ceremony Dec. 3.
(cont.) Chief negotiators of a landmark treaty banning cluster bombs predicted Friday that the United States will never again use the weapons,... more -
Cluster bomb: l'Italia le mette al bando ma non se ne libera
Siglato l'accordo internazionale a Dublino. Le bombe grappolo rimangono in dotazione alle basi Usa in Italia. Intervista a Giuseppe Schiavello, direttore della Campagna Mine
Le aspettative del Terzo Settore
La Conferenza di Dublino per la messa al bando delle bombe a grappolo chiude oggi con un trattato dalla portata se non storica, certamente fondamentale. L'accordo, raggiunto da 109 delegati presenti a Dublino fra cui quelli italiani, prevede il disarmo totale degli arsenali di cluster bombs, senza alcun tipo di distinzione tra ordigni più o meno evoluti, entro 10 anni (non 8, come era emerso nei giorni scorsi), e una grande attenzione alle vittime, con un programma di sostegno che fa tesoro di dieci anni di lavoro accanto ai mutilati delle mine antiuomo.
Il retroscena più interessante di questa settimana di discussioni riguarda certamente il premier inglese Gordon Brown, indicato da tutti come la “colomba” che ha trainato la conferenza alla sua felice conclusione, “ma che in realtà nei primi giorni di conferenza aveva fatto dichiarazioni tali da far pensare che la Gran Bretagna sarebbe stato il convitato di pietra. Sul suo cambio di direzione devono aver pesato moltissimo le pressioni dell'opinione pubblica inglese, che ha ancora vivo il ricordo di Lady Diana come testimonial della campagna mine, e la ricerca di un rilancio del Labour”, commenta Giuseppe Schiavello, direttore della Campagna Mine e tra gli operatori di ong delegati a Dublino.
Disarmo, sostegno alle vittime: quali altri obiettivi centra il testo raggiunto con questo Trattato?
E' stato cancellato definitivamente l'articolo che prevedeva un periodo di transizione tra la messa al bando e la produzione e il commercio di cluster. Si trattava di un passaggio aberrante, in cui alcuni Stati chiedevano uno spazio di 15 anni in cui avrebbero di fatto smaltito commercialmente i propri arsenali. L'altro grande gol riguarda l'impegno di “moral suasion” che i paesi firmatari assumono nei confronti dei non firmatari. Siglato l'accordo internazionale a Dublino. Le bombe grappolo rimangono in dotazione alle basi Usa in Italia. Intervista a Giusep... more -
Cluster bomb ban treaty faces loophole, exceptions and delays
Cluster munitions kill children and other civilians long after wars are over--and this week, we have a chance to ban them. 116 countries are in the final stages of negotiation on a cluster bomb ban -- but some are trying to water down the treaty with loopholes, exceptions, and delays. The delegations obstructing a strong treaty in the last few days include the UK, France, Germany, South Africa, the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland. Cluster munitions kill children and other civilians long after wars are over--and this week, we have a chance to ban them. 116 countri... more
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Britain Obstructs Global Ban on Use of Cluster Bombs
The British Government is accused of being the chief obstacle to the signing of a treaty to ban cluster bombs, which have maimed and killed thousands of civilians worldwide.
Countries that have suffered the impact of the bombs, humanitarian groups and former commanders of British forces have called for the UK to drop its insistence on retaining cluster munitions, a stance, they say, that is likely to scupper hopes of securing an agreement at an international conference starting in Dublin today. The British Government is accused of being the chief obstacle to the signing of a treaty to ban cluster bombs, which have maimed and k... more -
Denmark approves cluster bomb use
The Danish government sparks controversy after passing a new resolution supporting the military's legal right to use cluster bombs.
The Danish opposition decided to follow suit and compromise with the right and centre-right parties on the issue after initially seeking a complete ban on the military's use of such weapons for battle and tactical bombing purposes. The Danish government sparks controversy after passing a new resolution supporting the military's legal right to use cluster bomb... more -
U.N. calls for cluster bomb ban at global gathering
The United Nations urged the world on Monday to back a global ban on cluster bombs, calling the munitions unreliable and indiscriminate.
Representatives from than 100 nations are gathered in the Irish capital Dublin for two weeks of talks aimed at hammering out an agreement after several years of negotiations.
But the Dublin gathering has already been undermined by the absence of United States, China and Russia, which oppose a global ban.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told delegates that the use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster bombs should be prohibited.
"Because they are inherently inaccurate and often malfunction, they are particularly indiscriminate and unreliable," Ban told the conference in a video message.
Cluster munitions open in mid-air and scatter as many as several hundred "bomblets" over wide areas. They often fail to explode, creating virtual mine fields that can kill or injure anyone who comes across them -- often curious children.
The U.N. Development Programme says cluster munitions have caused more than 13,000 confirmed injuries and deaths around the world, the vast majority of them in Laos, Vietnam and Afghanistan.
The so-called Oslo process against the bombs began three years ago and is modeled on the campaign against anti-personnel land mines, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 and led to the 1999 Ottawa Treaty banning them. The United Nations urged the world on Monday to back a global ban on cluster bombs, calling the munitions unreliable and indiscriminat... more -
U.S. and U.K. oppose worldwide call for ban on cluster bombs
A conference taking place today in Dublin has been tipped by top UN officials and diplomats as likely to end with the signing of a treaty outlawing cluster bombs. Over one hundred nations are gathering in the Republic of Ireland capital - but the world's top users and stockpilers of the gruesome bombs will reportedly be conspicuously absent: the United States, Israel, China, Russia, India, and Pakistan will not be attending. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon actively advocates a ban.
Cluster blasts scatter hundreds of so-called "bomblets" over wide areas. Because they often fail to explode, the shrapnel effectively leaves behind a mine field which can kill or maim. There have been 13,000 confirmed injuries and deaths caused by cluster bombs, mostly in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Vietnam, and Laos, in Southeast Asia.
[Updated: May 19th] A conference taking place today in Dublin has been tipped by top UN officials and diplomats as likely to end with the signing of a tre... more -
Brown's Cluster Bomb ban undermined by his own negiotiators
Mr Brown told an audience of businessmen at Mansion House that he wanted "to work internationally for a ban on the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of those cluster munitions which cause unacceptable harm to civilians".
However, as he made the announcement, British officials were at the Convention on Conventional Weapons in Geneva, negotiating for the continued use of controversial Israeli-made M85 explosives.
The M85, a so-called smart-bomb that "self-destructs", has a failure record of between 1% and 2%, according to the government.
Cluster munitions are weapons that on impact disperse several hundred smaller munitions - also known as bomblets, similar to land mines - over areas the size of two or three football pitches.
The only organisation to attempt to measure the numbers injured by unexploded munitions is Handicap International, which estimates that 98% of the 13,000 recorded victims were civilians rather than military.
When Israeli forces dropped M85s during last summer's bombardment of southern Lebanon, the UN mine action coordination centre there said the failure rate was between 6% and 10%. Many parts of Lebanon remain littered with unexploded bomblets.
Steve Goose, the director of the arms division of Human Rights Watch, said: "Nobody like Brown, who wants to get rid of arms that cause unacceptable harm to civilians, would back the use of a weapon that has a 6-10% failure rate."
The British army used M85s in Basra, and Human Rights Watch fieldwork found cluster munitions aimed at military targets had killed civilians, with many failing to self-destruct at the time of attack. Mr Brown told an audience of businessmen at Mansion House that he wanted "to work internationally for a ban on the use, productio... more
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