Friends of Lebanon M85 Submunition Cluster Bomb Petition

What is the M85 Submunition?

The M85 is a cluster bomb designed and produced by Israeli Military Industries. Technically, it is a 155 millimetre artillery shell containing 49 submunitions, which it spreads over an area of roughly 50 metres square. Essentially, that means a rocket launches a unit which sprays a large area with little bombs (grenades). Many cluster bombs fail to explode immediately and remain forever where they happen to fall, ready to explode when disturbed by its unknowing victim.

In February 2007 the UK signed the Declaration of the Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions, which seeks to “prohibit the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.” On 20 March 2007, however, Secretary of State for Defence Des Browne announced his intention to continue stockpiling M85 submunitions as “legitimate weapons with significant military value.” http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070320/wmstext/70320m0001.htm#column_36WS

This is because the Israeli Military Industries insists that the M85 cluster device has a hazardous dud rate of 0.06% and that M85 devices are the “most environmentally friendly in the world because they leave no environmental hazards behind and only minute numbers of hazardous duds.” http://www.aph.gov.au/SENATE/COMMITTEE/fadt_ctte/cluster_bill_2006/submissions/sub03.pdf

For clarification, the UK both stockpiles and uses the M85, which is manufactured in Israel . Given the UK political and economic alliance with Israel —and given the fact that the UK purchases the M85 from Israel —then the UK is indeed complicit in its manufacture.

Legitimate Assessment or Political Partnership?

A Cluster Munition Coalition expert reports that:

“As a former deminer, I utterly reject the suggestion that there is a distinction between ‘dangerous’ and ‘non-dangerous’ duds and I would draw your attention to the fact that that was the clear conclusion of experts at the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] meeting in Montreux. It is a complacent formulation devised by those who have no experience of working in cluster munition affected areas. It should not appear anywhere in a treaty. In the same vein, as someone who has recently stood in a field of unexploded M85 submunitions with failed self-destructs, the idea that adding a self-destruct to a sub-munition represents a technical solution, or somehow makes them ‘smart’, is not born out by the evidence. In fact, given that they have two means of initiation, the clearance of M85’s is more dangerous than other submunitions, to quote the UNMACC in Southern Lebanon: ‘We can state categorically that we are finding large numbers of unexploded M85 submunitions that have failed to detonate as designed and failed to self-destruct afterwards. In effect these submunitions have failed twice. These M85 submunitions are even more dangerous than other types because the self-destruct mechanism makes them more problematic to deal with and where ever possible they are destroyed in situ.’ ” http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/files/Clearance%20intervention.doc

Human Rights Watch reported just two week after the 2006 war:

“As of 29 August, the U.N. MACC SL reported that 2,171 submunition duds had been located and destroyed, in just two weeks of operations. This total did not include submunitions cleared by the Lebanese Army or Hezbollah. It consisted of 820 M77 MLRS submunitions, 715 M42 artillery submunitions, 631 M85 artillery submunitions, and five BLU-63 aerial bomblets. The number of M85 duds is most striking, since that submunition has a self-destruct feature that is claimed to reduce dramatically the failure rate.” http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/files/CCW%20Lebanon%20First%20Look%2008.30.06.pdf

Landmine Action sums it up:

“The UK’s retention of its M85 cluster munitions (one of the types used by Israel in its notorious cluster bombing of Lebanon last year) is incompatible with claims of commitment either to humanitarian protection or evidence-based policy making. These weapons should be withdrawn from service.” http://www.landmineaction.org/support/email/

See for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_jsyObTG8k

Please also visit the petition calling for the general ban on cluster bombs at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Clusterbombs/

Want to learn more? See Landmine Action reports

“Cluster Munitions in Lebanon” (Nov 2005) http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/files/Cluster%20Munitions%20In%20Lebanon.pdf.

“Foreseeable Harm: The Use and Impact of Cluster Munitions in Lebanon 2006” (Oct 2006) (http://www.landmineaction.org/resources/ForeseeableHarmfinal.pdf)

For more information about the Oslo Process to create an international ban on cluster bombs, please see

http://www.clusterprocess.org .

"Governments have a responsibility to protect civilians in times of conflict, the burden of proof is therefore laid squarely at their door if they want exceptions. Despite the evidence from Lebanon a minority of nations will argue for an exception for cluster munitions with self-destructs, in doing so they are arguing for a whole new generation of civilian casualties,"

said Simon Conway, Co-Chair of the Cluster Munition Coalition.

And visit the Mine Action Coordination Centre, Southern Lebanon

Easy to understand facts, figures and photos of this ongoing issue in Lebanon

http://www.maccsl.org/index.htm

UK Foreign Affairs Office Report: How can the UK justify these weapons?

On 25 July 2007, The UK Select Committee on Foreign Affairs issued a report on “Global Security: the Middle East .” Their findings and recommendations on the issue of cluster bombs:

UN sources in Lebanon stated that the “estimate of the failure rate of 'dumb' cluster bombs used by Israel was "moving towards 30%". The failure rate of the so-called 'smart' M85 bomb was established as between 5-10%. In 2003, the Government stated that the failure rate of its 'dumb' BL 755 bomb was 6%. In May 2007, it stated that the failure rate of the 'smart' M85 bomb was 2.3%.

We conclude that the failure rate of 'dumb' cluster bombs could be as high as 30%, much higher than the Government's estimate of 6%. We further conclude that the failure rate of 'smart' cluster bombs could be as high as 10%, again significantly higher than the Government's estimate of 2.3%. We recommend that, in its response to this Report, the Government state whether it is prepared to accept that the failure rate of 'smart' cluster munitions could be as high as 10%, and if so, how it justifies continuing to permit UK armed forces to hold such munitions.

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmfaff/363/36302.htm

Click Here for Articles Related to the Cluster Bomb Campaign

Click Here for Information and Photos of the ‘Make It Happen’ Event’

Text Box: British Government Response to the Friends of Lebanon petition to ban the manufacture and continued use of M85 submunitions The British Government has been at the forefront of international non-proliferation efforts. The Government recognise that small arms kill every 90 seconds, so at the same time as we have called for a legally binding Arms Trade Treaty, the UK has also stated that it is willing to extend export laws to control extra-territorial brokering and trafficking of small arms, and potentially other weapons. The Government also led the way on international efforts to reduce the humanitarian impact of cluster munitions, because it was the right thing to do. The Government were the first to take two types of cluster munitions out of service, and we want to work internationally for a ban on the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of those cluster munitions which cause unacceptable harm to civilians. The Government remain faithful to our Oslo commitments, and our policy on the remainder of cluster munitions in service is balanced, principled and pragmatic - retaining only those types that have a valid role in modern warfare and so as not to adversely impact on the UK's operational effectiveness and hence impose serious capability gaps on UK Armed Forces. Our policy fully recognises and shares the legitimate humanitarian concerns that have been raised over cluster munitions; and we strive always to reduce civilian casualties to the minimum. The Government is also committed to improving reliability of all munitions, including cluster munitions, with the aim of achieving lower failure rates and leaving less unexploded ordnance. The UK's L20A1 M85 sub-munition has undergone rigorous and comprehensive testing prior to entering service and remains subject to regular in-service trials. Over the last year at various international meetings, including the Oslo Process, the UK has consistently called on all States to comply fully with International Humanitarian Law when using cluster munitions, and to follow the UK's example to phase out so-called 'dumb' cluster munitions as we did in March 2007. Issued 15th January 2008.

Text Box: M85: An analysis of reliability Producers and stockpilers of M85 have argued that their tests show that the failure rate for this bomblet type is only 1% or 2%, this new report proves that the failure rate for this bomblet in Lebanon was around 10%. The report ‘M85 – An analysis of reliability” was launched December 6th. during the Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions where 133 states are gathered to discuss how to frame a prohibition on cluster munitions by the end of 2008. Some states involved in the so-called Oslo process, of which the Vienna meeting is the third international conference, are arguing that by equipping the bomblets in cluster munitions with self-destruct mechanisms a sufficient level of protection to civilians is provided and they are therefore arguing that such bomblets should be exempted from the emerging ban. The Israeli-produced bomblet M85 has become a symbol of this approach, as it is widely acknowledged as the best available self-destruct technology for cluster munitions, M85 is also the only SD bomblet ever documented to have been used in combat; in 2003 by the United Kingdom in Iraq, and in 2006 by Israel in Lebanon. Many other countries also stockpile the M85 bomblets, including Norway and Finland. While the producers and stockpilers of M85 have argued that their tests show that the failure rate for this bomblet type is only 1% or 2%, this new report proves that the failure rate for this bomblet in Lebanon was around 10%. The report is the result of a unique partnership between the humanitarian mine clearance organization Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) and the British explosive ordnance disposal expert Colin King. This evidence from the field confirms our suspicions that while self-destruct mechanisms may help to lower failure rates also these bomblets fail far too often and still cause unacceptable humanitarian harm. An exclusion from the emerging prohibition for bomblets with self-destruct mechanisms is not only unjustified, it would be a recipe for further widespread humanitarian and development harm to be caused by cluster munitions, says one of the authors of the report, Grethe Østern from NPA. The report also emphasizes that the specific example of M85 illustrates the substantial difference between results obtained during testing and the reality seen during operations. This suggests that current testing practices for cluster munitions may have little or no utility as a predictor of the risk that will be created to the post-conflict civilian population, says Østern. The M85 bomblets performed poorly in Lebanon even though the conditions were generally ‘favourable’ for bomblet reliability. The failure rate for M85 must be expected to increase further when old, poorly maintained stockpiles are used by undisciplined soldiers in more stressful and adverse conditions, and fired into soft, heavily vegetated ground. http://www.npaid.org/?module=Articles;action=Article.publicShow;ID=5662 Published and presented 6th December 2007during the Vienna Conference at which UK delegates were present. Full report available at link above.

Our petition closed 19th December 2007 with 358 signatures. You may still view the petition at

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/M85submunitions/

CMC 3 minute video “Global push for cluster bomb ban” A must see. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbn9yINlYfo

Haaretz reports: (AP article, run only by Haaretz at this point)

“Cluster bomb left from 2006 war wounds 4 children in S. Lebanon (24/4/08)

A state-run Lebanese news agency has said that an explosion of a cluster bomb left behind by the Israel Defense Forces from the Second Lebanon War wounded four young Lebanese in the country's south.

The report says that Friday's incident occurred in the village of Adsheet when the four children, aged between 10 and 15, found the suspicious device and held it before it went off. The four were then taken to hospital in the southern province of Nabatiyeh.

Lebanon has a huge problem with bombs left behind during the 2006 war. Twenty-seven civilians have been killed and 209 wounded since. UN and human rights groups say Israel dropped about 4 million cluster bomblets during the war. One million failed to explode and now endanger civilians.”

FOL says:

Don’t you love the phrase “cluster bomb left behind by the Israel Defense Forces” as though they’d absently left a coat hanging on the chair at the restaurant. “Huge problem” indeed. Another AP political euphemism—really, you’d think those careless Israelis could learn not to litter. It is sad indeed that this type of news is rarely covered outside Lebanon. (To date only IMEMC and Haaretz/AP have reported it, and they’ve noted only 4 children).

‘Cluster Bomb Victims Call for Ban’

More than one hundred countries are expected to agree to ban cluster bombs later this month. But Britain may not be among them. The UK wants to keep so-called 'smart' cluster bombs that it claims minimise the impact on civilians. Dominic Waghorn of Sky News reports. (3 minute video) http://video.news.sky.com/skynews/video/?&videoSourceID=1315063

Cluster Bombs’ Deadly Legacy Continues

Just over a month before his 16^th birthday, young Mohamad, from Zawtar El-Charkiya a village in South Lebanon, became cluster bomb victim #301. On 4 May 2008, a cluster bomb explosion injured Mohamad’s left hand and blew shrapnel into his right eye. He will wake to learn that he has permanently lost the sight in his eye, and more than likely has lost normal use of his hand. As he now faces specialised medical treatment, his family—supported only by his father’s meagre income as a day-worker—must look to charities to meet the expenses. While Mohamad may be the 301^st physical victim of these cruel Israeli weapons, there are so many more who have suffered the emotional and financial impact of their wrath.

For an overview of the devastating effects of cluster bombs in Lebanon, visit the Mine Action Coordination Centre, South Lebanon. After 1½ years since the Israeli cluster bombs pummelled Lebanon, only 27% of the 38,819,694 square metres of contaminated land has been cleared down to a depth of 20cm. A further 47% has been cleared of surface threat,

but is subject to further evaluation.

In just two weeks, nations from around the world will meet in Dublin for the final negotiations of the international ban on cluster bombs. Too late for Mohamad. But will the conference bring help for today’s victims? Even hope for tomorrow’s?

For full reports from the Wellington Conference on the Global Ban on Cluster Bombs, please visit

http://www.stopclusterbombs.org.nz/. For full reports from the Dublin Conference on the Global Ban on Cluster Bombs, please visit http://www.clustermunitionsdublin.ie/