A global treaty banning cluster munitions has gone into force.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions, which became binding
international law on Sunday, prohibits the use, production
and stockpiling of the weapon, which is blamed for killing and maiming
tens of thousands of civilians.
Thomas Nash, from the Cluster Munition Coalition, a network of 200 civil society organisations, hailed the ban.
"This is the most significant piece of international humanitarian law
to enter into force since the land mine ban 10 years ago. From this
moment on, countries have a legal obligation to assist the victims," the
Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.
The treaty requires signatories to destroy
stockpiled cluster munitions within eight years, clear contaminated
areas within 10 years and help affected communities and survivors.
The Convention on Cluster Bombs was first adopted in May 2008 and
ratified by 37 states including Britain, France, Germany and Japan,
which all have significant stocks.
Deadly 'toys'
Cluster bombs are dropped from planes or fired by mortars before the
canisters open mid-air, releasing bomblets that scatter over a wide
area. Most explode immediately, but those that fail to detonate on
impact can claim victims many years after the end of the conflict.
More
than two dozen countries have been affected by cluster bombs and
activists say three out of five casualties occur during day-to-day
activities.
Most of the victims are children and some are killed when they mistake the bomblets for toys.
The United Nations estimates almost half of all casualties are from
Laos, where people are still at risk of being injured from unexploded
bomblets.
Between 1964 and 1973, at the height of Vietnam War, the US military
dropped more than 2 million tons of explosive ordnance, including an
estimated 260 million cluster munitions, mainly to disrupt enemy supply
lines that passed through Laos.
It is thought that around 30 per cent of bomblets failed to explode
on impact, and over two-thirds of the country is still contaminated.
Experts say they kill or injure about 300 people a year.
Significant stocks
Countries that have signed the treaty into law
include the UK, France, Germany and Japan, all of which have significant
stocks of the weapon.
But the Cluster Munition Coalition said it needs to persuade more states to sign.
The United States, the world's largest producer with the biggest
stockpile of 800 million submunitions, has refused to sign the treaty so
far, although it says it will ban the weapon from 2018.
China, Russia and Israel have also stayed away and do not disclose their stocks.
Lou Maresca from the International Committee of the Red Cross told Al
Jazeera: "We've often seen that the establishment of a new
international humanitarian law treaty can nevertheless impact on states
which are not a party to it.
"We've already seen that the existence of this treaty has helped
change the practice and provoke a re-evaluation of the role of cluster
munitions even in major military powers."
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
