Cluster Bombs: A History of Harm
A cluster bomb is a weapon that can contain up to several hundred small explosive bomblets. Dropped from the air or fired from the ground, cluster bombs break open in mid-air and scatter these bomblets over a wide area. Anyone within the strike zone is likely to be torn apart, no matter if they are military or civilian. Many bomblets fail to explode as intended, leaving behind huge quantities of de facto landmines which continue to kill for years or even decades after their use. Used in more than 30 countries, cluster bombs have killed and injured tens of thousands of civilians and devastated the livelihoods of countless more. Over 380 million bomblets were used in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam in the 1970s and many of these are still killing people today. In the past decade cluster bombs have been used in Albania, the former Yugoslavia, the DR Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Israel and Georgia.
JOIN THE TEAM!
Second Anniversary of Entry Into Force CCM
In 2008 governments negotiated an international treaty, formally known as the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster bombs. It also prohibits all countries that have joined the Convention to assist anyone in any activity banned under the Convention, such as the production of cluster bombs. So far, more than 110 countries have joined the Convention.
On 1 August 2012, WVCBL/PSALM joined Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) members worldwide to take part in coordinated campaign actions to celebrate the second anniversary of entry into force of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The theme to mark 2 years since the Convention entered into force was sports and the CMC called on governments to “Join the Team” by acceding to and ratifying the Convention and starting to implement the treaty as soon as possible.
- · ALL countries, including the U.S. should ‘join the team’ of nations committed to a global ban cluster bombs by acceding to or ratifying the Convention as soon as possible.
· Key decision makers and government representatives should ‘join the team’ of delegates registered for future Meeting of States Parties.
WVCBL/PSALM wants YOU to ‘join the team’ of civil society, governments and individuals globally working together for a world free of cluster munitions. The world has agreed that biological and chemical weapons may not be used. It is time to ban these weapons recognizing that any conceivable use is outweighed by the moral consequences. We encourage YOU to learn more about cluster munitions and landmines (www.stopclustermunitions.org and www.icbl.org) and JOIN THE TEAM!
