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Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs In This Edition...
1) Governments Sign Cluster Bomb Ban on December 3 It's not every day that heads of State, Foreign Ministers and senior government representatives from more than 100 countries gather to outlaw an entire category of weaponry that causes unacceptable harm to civilians. They will do so this week in Oslo, Norway, when they sign the treaty banning cluster bombs that was negotiated in May 2008. It is the most significant humanitarian and disarmament treaty of the past decade. The Convention on Cluster Munitions-which bans production, stockpiling, use and export of cluster bombs-also requires states to provide adequate assistance to victims of these weapons. The treaty signing ceremony on December 3 is highly symbolic; it is International Day of Persons with Disabilities and the 11th anniversary of the signing of the Mine Ban Treaty. The Bush Administration boycotted the negotiations and will not sign the treaty. The new administration will be able to change course after taking over the White House. President-elect Obama's Senate record and campaign statement bode well, but nothing is assured. The Pentagon's opposition to U.S. participation remains unchanged, Secretary Gates (who issued the Pentagon policy of retaining cluster bombs for another decade) seems to be staying on, and the new president has a lot on his plate. We need you to make a little noise! When an article appears in your local newspaper about the treaty signing, send a letter to the editor asking Mr. Obama to sign the Convention. You can find sample text for the letter at: http://action.fcnl.org/r/23690/56075/. 2) Senate ratifies CCW protocol on Explosive Remnants of War; CCW fails to deliver on cluster bombs In late September the Senate ratified Protocol V of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which requires signatories to protect civilians from Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) during conflicts and to assist in post-conflict clearance. The protocol recognizes the special responsibility of combatant governments for ERW clearance. However, according the State Department office that oversees these matters, ratification of the protocol is not expected to change U.S. demining policy or to increase funding levels. The Bush administration has supported the CCW as its preferred forum for negotiations on cluster munitions. But at its latest meeting in mid-November, the negotiators once again failed to achieve the consensus needed to move forward with restrictions on clusters, largely because of disagreements between governments participating in the Oslo Process and non-participants. The U.S. advocated a phased removal of certain types of cluster munitions from national arsenals, while states supporting the Convention on Cluster Munitions argued that the CCW was trying to legitimize the weapons. Lynn Bradach, who joined in the U.S. Campaign's Midwest Cluster Bomb Survivors Tour in October, gave a powerful survivor's statement at the opening of the conference in Geneva. Read Lynn's statement at: http://action.fcnl.org/r/23691/56075/ 3)U.S. Catholics against cluster bombs U.S. Catholic groups and publications have vocally advocated for a ban on cluster bombs, following the statement of Pope Benedict XVI in support of the treaty negotiations in May. In late November, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calling on the U.S. to sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The letter acknowledges the generous support of the U.S government for humanitarian demining around the world, but says: "Now is the time for the U.S. to support a Convention which would prevent the placement of these mines and munitions in the first place." At its annual meeting in October, the U.S. Catholic Mission Association passed a resolution in support of banning the bombs that keep on killing; also, America Magazine, the National Catholic Weekly, recently editorialized in support of the next administration joining the treaty. See the article at: http://action.fcnl.org/r/23692/56075/. 4) 9th Meeting of Mine Ban Treaty signatories; new Landmine Monitor Hundreds of delegates from governments, international agencies and civil society met in Geneva in late November at the 9th Meeting of the States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty. As participants began assessing progress in treaty implementation, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) focused on fulfillment of the treaty's victim assistance provisions, stating that many landmine survivors are still waiting for the assistance due to them. Meanwhile, the ICBL released the latest Landmine Monitor Report on November 21. This comprehensive civil-society initiative reports on landmine and cluster bomb ban policy, demining, casualties, risk education, and victim assistance and support in 120 countries and areas. Among its findings: in 2007 Myanmar (Burma) and Russia were the only two states that laid new landmines. See the report at: http://action.fcnl.org/r/23693/56075/. For more information on the US Campaign to Ban Landmines, go to www.banminesusa.org U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines To make a donation to the US Campaign to Ban Landmines go to: www.banminesusa.org/support/body.html and click on Donate. |
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