NGOer kalder det en milepæl – bomberne kastes ud fra fly eller affyres af artilleri og de spreder i hundredvis af småbomber, der ofte ikke eksploderer, men lemlæster eller dræber ved mindste berøring og er svære at finde og fjerne. LONDON, 6 September, 2012: Governments that have joined the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions have destroyed nearly 750.000 cluster munitions containing 85 million submunitions (små bomber) to date, according to “Cluster Munition Monitor 2012”, a global report released Thursday in London. “The impressive number of stockpiled (oplagrede) cluster bombs destroyed under the Convention on Cluster Munitions demonstrates just how committed governments are to rapidly implementing this treaty,” said Mary Wareham of Human Rights Watch, final editor of Cluster Munition Monitor 2012. “It is proving to be a milestone in humanitarian disarmament diplomacy, and the hold-out states that have not yet joined need to get on the right side of history,” Wareham said. “Cluster Munition Monitor 2012” is launched by the international Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) in advance of the convention’s Third Meeting of States Parties, which opens in Oslo, Norway on Tuesday, 11 September. A total of 111 countries have joined the Convention, of which 75 have ratified (folkeretligt undertegnet) or acceded (forberedende tilsluttet sig), becoming full States Parties. The report cites the serious allegations of new use of cluster munitions in Syria and Sudan as the most disturbing developments of the year. The allegations have not yet been confirmed, but are considered credible by the Monitor. Neither state has joined the ban convention. The Convention on Cluster Munitions, which entered into force on 1 August 2010, comprehensively prohibits the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions. It also requires destruction of stockpiled cluster munitions within eight years, clearance of cluster munition remnants (rester) within 10 years, and assistance to victims, including those killed or injured by submunitions as well as their families and affected communities. According to the report: • In 2011 alone, 10 States Parties destroyed stockpiles of more than 107.000 munitions and 17,6 million submunitions; • Overall, States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions have destroyed nearly 750.000 cluster munitions containing 85,8 million submunitions, representing more than 60 per cent of all declared stockpiles; • More than 48.000 unexploded submunitions were destroyed during clearance operations of some 55 km2 of area across 10 states and two other areas in 2011; • Three countries acceded and 15 signatories ratified the ban convention, becoming States Parties, in 2011, while eight more signatories ratified in 2012. New States Parties include former cluster munition producers Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland; • Three states enacted national legislation to implement the ban convention (Cook Islands, Czech Republic, and Italy) in 2011, while another three did so in the first half of 2012 (Hungary, Sweden, and Switzerland); in total, 18 states have adopted implementing legislation; • At least 55 new cluster munition casualties were confirmed in Cambo-dia, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, and Sudan, as well as Western Sahara, in 2011. Læs videre på http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/news/?id=3811 Begynd fra: “In addition, the report finds that:…”
