46 Nations Adopt Cluster Bomb Declaration

A declaration presented on the last day of the meeting urged nations to "conclude by 2008 a legally binding international instrument" to ban cluster bombs. The treaty would "prohibit the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of those cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians," the declaration said. Cluster bomblets are packed by the hundreds into artillery shells, bombs or missiles, which scatter them over vast areas, with some failing to explode immediately. The unexploded bomblets can then lie dormant for years after conflicts end until they are disturbed, often by civilians. As many as 60 per cent of the victims in Southeast Asia are children, the Cluster Munition Coalition said. The weapons have recently been used in Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Lebanon, it said. The UN estimated that Israel dropped as many as four million bomblets in southern Lebanon during last year's war with Hezbollah, with as many 40 per cent failing to explode on impact. Children can be attracted to the unexploded weapons by their small size, shape and bright colours, activists say. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/02/23/cluster-bombs.html

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