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Cluster Munition Coalition Press Release
Cluster bomb ban treaty reaches 30th ratification milestone
The 30 ratifying countries include states that led the “Oslo Process” effort to create the Convention (Norway, Austria, Holy See, Ireland, Mexico, and New Zealand), states where cluster munitions have been used (Albania, Croatia, Lao PDR, Sierra Leone, and Zambia), cluster munition stockpilers (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Moldova, Montenegro, and Slovenia), as well as Spain, the first signatory country to complete destruction of its stockpile. Other ratifying states are: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Malta, Nicaragua, Niger, San Marino, and Uruguay.
After the Convention on Cluster Munitions enters into force on 1 August, the next milestone will be the First Meeting of States Parties, which is scheduled to be held in Lao PDR in late 2010. Lao PDR is the country most heavily contaminated by cluster munitions as a result of US bombing more than 30 years ago. “My country joined the ban treaty because our people have suffered the impact of these deadly ‘bombies’ for decades,” said Phong, a cluster bomb survivor from Lao PDR who is a member of the Ban Advocate initiative of Handicap International Belgium, a CMC founding organisation. “We’re looking forward to welcoming government representatives and campaigners to Vientiane later this year to show the world the immense and shocking legacy of cluster bomb use here.”
The Oslo Process and the treaty negotiations were characterised by a close partnership between pro-ban governments, civil society led by the CMC, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and UN agencies, as well as by the leadership of affected states such as Lao PDR and of individual survivors themselves.
Even before the Convention’s entry into force, states have already begun to implement some of its provisions. Last year, Spain announced the destruction of cluster munition stockpiles, and about a dozen other states have begun stockpile destruction. Albania announced in December 2009 that it was the first signatory country to complete clearance of cluster bomblet contamination on its territory.
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موت تحت الأقدام Watch Al Jazeera’s “A Death Beneath” a 50-minute film on cluster bomb victims in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Serbia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7KFfbzMn5g
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The CMC urged as many states as possible to sign, ratify, and begin implementation of the Convention before the First Meeting of States Parties in Lao PDR in November. In particular, states that have already ratified the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities should put their full support behind the cluster bomb ban as well, as all three international treaties enshrine the same humanitarian and human rights principles for assistance to affected communities and the promotion of dignified lives for survivors and victims of armed violence. In London, Conor Fortune (English, Spanish): +44-(0)75-1557-5174; or conor@stopclustermunitions.org In Vientiane, Lao PDR, Thomas Nash (English, French): +44-(0)7711926730 (mobile); or thomas@stopclustermunitions.org
Oslo Signing Conference of Cluster Munition Convention. Oslo, Norway, 4 December 2008
Reports on the effects of cluster bombs in Lebanon: Counting the Cost - Landmine Action - May 2008 Flooding South Lebanon - Human Rights Watch - February 2008 M85 - Analysis of Reliability - Norwegian People’s Aid – 2007 Foreseeable Harm - Landmine Action - October 2006 Cluster Munitions in Lebanon - Landmine Action - November 2005
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The FOL Campaign Against Cluster Munitions
The use of cluster bombs within Lebanese communities is a clear representation of the ruthless disregard for basic human rights that has battered Lebanon for over thirty years. In early 2007 FOL became a member organisation of the Cluster Munition Coalition and has since campaigned vigorously for an international ban on the weapon and for sustainable accountability in clearance and victim assistance.
Despite intense pressures from its American ally, in 2008 Britain signed its support for a comprehensive Convention on Cluster Munitions. In 2009 Britain included the ratification of the Convention in its legislative programme. In order to demonstrate support for this significant development in British political history, FOL built a ten-day public awareness promotion. With the State Opening of Parliament scheduled for the 18th November Queen’s Speech, this mini-campaign was built to keep the tragedies of Lebanon at the forefront of international attention.
The Public Awareness Promotion
FOL invited three Lebanese guests to join in this campaign: (1) Imad Khachman of the Lebanese National Committee for MRE and MVA, (2) Hussein Zreik, who survived a cluster bomb explosion in April 2008, and (3) his father Ali Zreik, who has been forced to deal with the impact of that explosion. Highlights of their visit include the following:
Imad, Ali and Hussein were filmed for the Press TV show “Remember the Children of Palestine,” drawing parallels between the Israeli aggressions against Lebanon and Gaza. The show was broadcast on the 3rd November and can be viewed online here.
Imad, Ali and Hussein were filmed for the Press TV show “Rattansi and Ridley,” with journalists Afshin Rattansi and Yvonne Ridley. The show was broadcast on Saturday 7th November and can be viewed online here. The three were also filmed at the Islam Channel studios. They were interviewed in great detail without the use of English translation. The show is currently being edited with subtitles and is scheduled to air in the coming weeks. Islam Channel is also due to broadcast both the film “72 Hours” (on the general cluster bomb issue in Lebanon) and “Life is Stronger” (on Hussein’s injury and rehabilitation). On the 4th November, Imad, Ali and Hussein were guest speakers at the FOL event in British Parliament building Portcullis House, hosted by British MP Frank Cook. Also speaking were Brenda Heard of Friends of Lebanon, Thomas Nash of the Cluster Munition Coalition, and Frank Cook, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Landmine Eradication Group.
The audience was a diverse representation of media, ngo’s, and political offices and embassies, including Hassan Abbas and Marwan Francis of the Lebanese Embassy; Lord Nazir Ahmed, Lord Alf Dubs, and several other Members of British Parliament. Positive feedback included film MP Cook’s statement that he’d found the reality of the documentary film“72 Hours” almost numbing, that it left him almost speechless. Photographer Rania Matar stated that hearing Hussein’s story inspired her to build her next project on the impact of war on the children of Lebanon. CAABU’s Parliamentary Officer Graham Bambrough stated that Imad’s presentation convinced him of the necessity to send additional British delegations to Lebanon to follow up on the issue of cluster bombs. Imad, Ali and Hussein met with the Lady Fatemah Charitable Trust chairman Amirali G Karim at his home in a village north of London. Following a referral from the PADC in Nabatieh, this British Trust has helped fund the physical recovery and rehabilitation of Hussein Zreik. It was beneficial to the Zreiks in particular to see that humanitarian concern for their family extended well into the rolling green hills of England. On the 6th November, Imad, Ali and Hussein participated in a Roundtable Discussion at the offices of the Cluster Munition Coalition. Along with members of the CMC and Landmine Action, the group included documentary film producer Tima Khalil. Topics of discussion included how the International Convention on Cluster Munitions could impact Mine Risk Education and Mine Victim Assistance in Lebanon. On the 9th November, Imad, Ali and Hussein met with the Stop the War Coalition officers Chris Nineham and Lindsey German. It was agreed that we cannot tolerate the civilian casualties of the conflicts fed by Western powers and their Israeli ally. The resulting humanitarian crisis in Lebanon and other affected regions must be highlighted by concerned ngo’s and recognised and addressed by public officials. On Tuesday 10th, Ali and Hussein were guests of honour at a Friends of Lebanon table at a pre-opening evening of As-Saha Restaurant in Paddington. Amongst several FOL members, Abdo Haidar of the London Prosthetic Centre was able to share dinner with the patient for whom he so recently fitted an artificial leg. This was perhaps a fitting illustration that together we can endure and even proper. Conclusion
It must be noted that mainstream Western media has in large degree chosen to remain at a safe distance from the cluster bomb issue. While there has been over the last couple years some occasional coverage of the issue as a curious phenomenon, when given the opportunity to report the issue up close and personal, the Western media characteristically declines. Whether the lack of interest is due to politics or business, or simply to apathy, we can only guess.
The ten-day London visit has however accomplished two overall goals. One, the personal accounts of managing the impact of cluster bombs in Lebanon have allowed the British to see the issue not just as an abstract concept, but as a harsh reality. Two, the conversations and concerns of the British have allowed the Lebanese to understand that—just as in Lebanon—there are many people, indeed many politicians, who are at odds with the official governmental stance. Change for the better can in fact happen, but it will require persistence and determination.
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