The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Amelie Chayer, ICBL Communications Officer
(In Paris, GMT +2)

'All States Should Join the Convention and Forswear Use of Cluster Munitions Forever'

Statement by Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams on the occasion of the entry into force of the Convention on Cluster Munitions

GENEVA

The Convention on Cluster Munitions will enter into force on 1 August 2010, thus becoming binding international law. It is the most important disarmament and humanitarian convention in over a decade. In addition to banning the use and production of cluster munitions, it obliges nations to clear contaminated land within 10 years, destroy stockpiles of the weapon within eight years, and provide comprehensive assistance to cluster munition survivors, their families and communities.

Welcoming the entry into force of the convention, Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate and Ambassador of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, said:

"The Convention on Cluster Munitions is a strong international instrument and I am confident that with faithful, thorough implementation by states, it will alleviate the suffering caused by those abhorrent weapons. This is what we have seen with the treaty banning antipersonnel mines, a weapon that is just as indiscriminate as cluster munitions. Our experience in over a decade of Mine Ban Treaty implementation shows that the hard work must start right now if states are to overcome the major humanitarian challenge posed by cluster munitions. All states should join the convention and forswear use of these weapons forever. We want to see clearance programs effectively resourced and running efficiently. We want to see these cluster munition stockpiles destroyed diligently. We want victim assistance programs based on the needs expressed by survivors themselves."

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is committed to an international ban on the use, production, stockpiling, and sale, transfer, or export of antipersonnel landmines.