The Convention on Cluster Munitions, CCM, prohibits all use, stockpiling, production and transfer of Cluster Munitions. Separate articles in the Convention concern assistance to victims, clearance of contaminated areas and destruction of stockpiles.
The Convention was adopted in Dublin by 107 states on 30 May 2008 and signed on 3 December the same year. The Convention became binding international law for the States Parties when it entered into force on 1 August 2010. The First Meeting of States Parties will take place in Vientiane, Laos, 8 – 12 November 2010. Future States Parties will accede to the Convention by submitting their ratifications to the United Nations headquarters in New York. As of October 2010, 108 states have joined the Convention and 42 countries are stat parties.
Over 40 youth leaders between the ages of 18-30 from all over the world are participating in the Mine Actions Canada (MAC) Youth Leaders Forum. I have met landmine survivors from mine-affected countries, landmine and cluster bomb removal advocates, occupational therapists and journalists from countries such as Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Nepal, Canada and the U.S. I’m trying not to feel embarrassed and constantly apologize that my country, the United States of America, has not signed the Mine Ban Treaty or the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. Not only have we not signed these treaties, but we are one of 11 countries that have used cluster bombs, one of 19 that has produced cluster munitions, and one of 48 with landmine and cluster bomb stockpiles.
The good news is the U.S. has enacted an “indefinite unilateral export moratoria” and after 2010, it will no longer use cluster munitions that result in more than 1% unexploded ordinance. Which means we won’t export any cluster bombs and will only make more efficient ones… Having met several landmine and cluster bomb survivors and filmed four elephant landmine survivors in the last week, it’s hard to see that as “the glass is half-full”.
Sincerely,
Windy Borman
Director/Producer, The Eyes of Thailand
P.S. If you’d like to follow our tweets from the convention, search for the following Twitter hashtags: #ylf #cmc #banlandmines #banclusterbombs
