FACT: 98% of Cluster Submunition Casualties are Innocent Civilians.
Banning Cluster Munitions
Cluster munitions (also called cluster bombs) are weapons packed with numerous explosive submunitions or “bomblets.” The cluster bomb opens in mid-air, releasing the bomblets, which are designed to explode on impact. Most cluster munitions are unguided weapons—only about 60% explode immediately and the rest become defacto landmines. Cluster bombs indiscriminately injure civilians, including children, such as Zahra Hussein Soufan, a 12 year-old from south Lebanon who lost her fingers when she picked up a cluster bomb that looked like a coloring box. “I can’t play. I used to have fun with my friends,” Zahra says. “But I can’t play with them anymore.”
Cluster bombs have recently been used in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and South East Europe, and Laos still suffers from the effects of millions of unexploded bomblets that were used by U.S. forces more than thirty years ago.
Survivor Corps work to Ban Cluster Munitions
Due to the humanitarian devastation caused by cluster munitions, the international community has made a commitment to ban them. Survivor Corps is one of twelve international organizations that serve on the Steering Committee of the Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC), representing more than 250 organizations from 70 countries working locally, nationally and internationally to ban the use of cluster munitions. Drawing on experience from the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Survivor Corps is leading the charge to ensure that victims’ rights and assistance to affected communities are addressed in the treaty.
Survivor Corps leads the Cluster Munition Coalition by:
- Drafting text for specific victim assistance amendments backed by legal analysis
- Supporting survivor participation in the process
- Advocating strong government support for victim assistance
- Encouraging U.S. efforts to support the Oslo Process
- Organizing regional campaigns to ban cluster munitions.
The Oslo Process
In January 2007, Norway announced its intention to establish a new international process—now known as the “Oslo Process”—to draft a treaty to ban cluster bombs. In just over thirteen months, more than 100 countries have committed to support the drafting of the treaty. The coalition of like-minded states and NGOs assert that the world cannot afford to wait for formal talks to bring about a ban because the unexploded bomblets, scattered by artillery and high-flying aircraft in war zones, continue to kill and injure civilians indiscriminately. Countries that produce, use, stockpile, export and are affected by cluster munitions are participating in the Oslo Process. Momentum is high; the process is moving quickly and completion is anticipated within 2008.
Victim Assistance in the Treaty
Survivor Corps is ensuring that Victim Assistance provisions in the proposed cluster munitions treaty embody the fundamental principles of human rights as they apply to individual victims of cluster munitions or affected communities. In particular, Survivor Corps advocates for:
- Addressing Victim Assistance throughout the treaty, to ensure that it is recognized as a pillar of the proposed Convention and all aspects of its implementation.
- A separate article addressing the human rights of victims of cluster munitions, to ensure that states have the primary responsibility for promoting the rights of their population, including victims of cluster munitions.
- An obligation for States Parties to include Victim Assistance in national implementation, and to include victims of cluster munitions in these processes.
- A definition of “cluster munition victim” that includes survivors, their families and affected communities.
U.S. National Policy on Cluster Munitions
The United States Congress is considering national measures to restrict the use of cluster munitions, particularly in civilian populated areas. The “Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act,” a bill in both the House of Representatives and the Senate (H.R. 1755/S. 594), would prevent the U.S. from using cluster munitions in civilian populated areas and restricts the type of cluster munitions the military can use. Survivor Corps works with the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL) to raise awareness and educate Congressional staff about cluster munitions. The U.S. has thus far declined participation in the Oslo Process.
Oslo Process Participants
Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC)
The CMC coordinates civil society efforts in response to the devastation caused by cluster munitions. The CMC was founded in 2003 and represents more than 250 organizations from over 70 countries. CMC headquarters are in London. Survivors of cluster munitions accidents are active participants in the coalition.
Governments
Of the participating countries, Austria, New Zealand, Norway, Ireland and Peru are the core group of governments promoting the treaty. Austria has spearheaded the victim assistance provisions. As of December 2007, 138 states have participated in the process.
Intergovernmental Organizations
The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross support the cluster munitions treaty, and actively participate in the international conferences.
For more information, please contact:
Tracey Begley, (202) 250-3944, tbegley@landminesurvivors.org
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