International community works to ban cluster bombs, US insists they are not bad
Source: Reuters & Daily Star, 18-01-2008
A representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Lebanon said his organization was working on drafting an international treaty to prevent the use of cluster bombs. "The ICRC is pressing for a treaty to ban the use of cluster bombs similar to the international treaty on the use of land mines," Jordy Rayk told reporters following a visit to Hizbullah's representative in the South Sheikh Nabil Qaouq.
"Israel" dropped around 4 million cluster bombs in the last 72 hours of the summer war of 2006. While clearing works managed to get rid of the largest portion, around 1 million bomblets are still in Southern lands and groves. Around 30 people have been killed by the weapons since the end of the 2006 war.
On Wednesday, a senior United States' official said cluster bombs, which nearly 100 countries are seeking to ban, should not be considered bad as long as states involved in conflicts use them responsibly
The US official, who declined to be identified, also told a background briefing that Washington was planning to create a "quick reaction force," or QRF, to handle threats to civilians from remnants of war, like cluster bombs.
The official's remarks, which could not be independently confirmed, suggested that the United States - like Russia, China and some other powers - remains opposed to banning the weapons.
The US official spoke as negotiators working on updating a 1981 international agreement on especially dangerous conventional weapons (CCW) met in Geneva to prepare for "expert discussions" on cluster weapons next year under the United Nations umbrella.
Cluster munitions include a variety of weapons that can spread up to hundreds of bomblets over a target area. Up to 30 percent fail to explode, posing a threat to civilians for many years after a conflict
The ICRC says some 400 million people in countries and regions like Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Russia's Chechnya live in effective minefields, under daily threat of being mained by cluster bombs.
Other campaigners say at least 13,000 civilians are known to have been killed or injured by the bombs - used heavily most recently by "Israel" in its 2006 war in Lebanon - in recent years.
Norway has been leading an international effort known as the "Oslo Process" to shape a treaty banning the weapon by a meeting in Dublin in May this year, which would then be open for signature before the end of 2008.
Campaigning group Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC) says nearly 100 countries had come out in support of a ban by the last meeting in Vienna in December, although some like Germany, France Italy and Japan want a transitional period first.
CMC said after the Vienna gathering, attended by representatives from 138 nations, that a lot of progress had been made on clearing affected areas and meeting a deadline for destroying stockpiles.
"And those who do not sign the treaty need to be very aware what the international community will think of them," CMC spokesman Thomas Nash declared at the time.
At Wednesday's briefing, the senior US official said Washington did not view the CCW talks, in which 103 countries are taking part, as in competition with Oslo but that they should be the prime focus for dealing with cluster weapons.
He said the CCW should focus on ensuring that countries know how to use the weapons in a way that was in full accordance with international humanitarian law.
A printed statement from US officials said that "in keeping with the US commitment to deal comprehensively with all threats posed by conventional weapons and explosive remnants of war" it would shortly move toward creating a QRF.
The move would come in the form of a "procurement notice" to develop the force.
"This force would respond globally to short notice and emergent humanitarian operations that require the removal or mitigation of explosive hazards to protect civilian populations," the statement said.
A representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Lebanon said his organization was working on drafting an international treaty to prevent the use of cluster bombs. "The ICRC is pressing for a treaty to ban the use of cluster bombs similar to the international treaty on the use of land mines," Jordy Rayk told reporters following a visit to Hizbullah's representative in the South Sheikh Nabil Qaouq.
"Israel" dropped around 4 million cluster bombs in the last 72 hours of the summer war of 2006. While clearing works managed to get rid of the largest portion, around 1 million bomblets are still in Southern lands and groves. Around 30 people have been killed by the weapons since the end of the 2006 war.
On Wednesday, a senior United States' official said cluster bombs, which nearly 100 countries are seeking to ban, should not be considered bad as long as states involved in conflicts use them responsibly
The US official, who declined to be identified, also told a background briefing that Washington was planning to create a "quick reaction force," or QRF, to handle threats to civilians from remnants of war, like cluster bombs.
The official's remarks, which could not be independently confirmed, suggested that the United States - like Russia, China and some other powers - remains opposed to banning the weapons.
The US official spoke as negotiators working on updating a 1981 international agreement on especially dangerous conventional weapons (CCW) met in Geneva to prepare for "expert discussions" on cluster weapons next year under the United Nations umbrella.
Cluster munitions include a variety of weapons that can spread up to hundreds of bomblets over a target area. Up to 30 percent fail to explode, posing a threat to civilians for many years after a conflict
The ICRC says some 400 million people in countries and regions like Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Russia's Chechnya live in effective minefields, under daily threat of being mained by cluster bombs.
Other campaigners say at least 13,000 civilians are known to have been killed or injured by the bombs - used heavily most recently by "Israel" in its 2006 war in Lebanon - in recent years.
Norway has been leading an international effort known as the "Oslo Process" to shape a treaty banning the weapon by a meeting in Dublin in May this year, which would then be open for signature before the end of 2008.
Campaigning group Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC) says nearly 100 countries had come out in support of a ban by the last meeting in Vienna in December, although some like Germany, France Italy and Japan want a transitional period first.
CMC said after the Vienna gathering, attended by representatives from 138 nations, that a lot of progress had been made on clearing affected areas and meeting a deadline for destroying stockpiles.
"And those who do not sign the treaty need to be very aware what the international community will think of them," CMC spokesman Thomas Nash declared at the time.
At Wednesday's briefing, the senior US official said Washington did not view the CCW talks, in which 103 countries are taking part, as in competition with Oslo but that they should be the prime focus for dealing with cluster weapons.
He said the CCW should focus on ensuring that countries know how to use the weapons in a way that was in full accordance with international humanitarian law.
A printed statement from US officials said that "in keeping with the US commitment to deal comprehensively with all threats posed by conventional weapons and explosive remnants of war" it would shortly move toward creating a QRF.
The move would come in the form of a "procurement notice" to develop the force.
"This force would respond globally to short notice and emergent humanitarian operations that require the removal or mitigation of explosive hazards to protect civilian populations," the statement said.
