the ban on cluster bombs

Today in Oslo, 92 countries signed one of the most important humanitarian treaties of recent years, the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Signatory nations of this convention promise to ban the production, export, stockpiling, and use of cluster bombs which have claimed the lives of innocent civilians for more than 40 years. Cluster munitions caused more civilian deaths in Iraq in 2003 and Kosovo in 1999 than any other weapons system. Which countries are not signing the ban? United States, China, Russia, Israel...

A statement by the U.S. State Department, "Although we share the humanitarian concerns of states signing the (convention), we will not be joining them...Such a general ban on cluster munitions will put the lives of our military men and women, and those of our coalition partners at risk."

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I am thankful for the countries that are signing this treaty.

To sign this convention is to support international humanitarian law, to take significant steps towards minimizing the effect of armed conflict on innocent civilians...

I wish my own country's present leadership would sign. I wish my country's present leadership would see the humanitarian importance of taking this step and that that would out-weigh anything else. 

For more info, there is a 15 minute informative video on YouTube made by the International Committee of the Red Cross about the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Check it out. This is a big deal. We need to speak up about this....I need to speak up about this. 

 

Thanks to my dad who sent me an article today, inspiring this blog.