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Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs News
Just after Thanksgiving, the Washington Post published a profile of a young Lebanese woman injured by a cluster bomb left over from last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah fighters. The article notes that most of the cluster bombs Israel dropped were of U.S. origin. It also notes that delegates from more than 80 countries will meet in early December to negotiate a treaty on cluster bombs, and that the U.S. government will not be present. This interactive website provides easily accessible background on cluster bombs. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that the first hailstorm of the year in southern Lebanon ignited a number of unexploded cluster bombs. Luckily, no one was injured during the storm, but it demonstrates how volatile cluster bomb remnants are. It is estimated that 1 million deadly cluster bomb submunitions remain on the ground following the 2006 war. Finally, UNICEF released a statement calling for a global ban on cluster bombs. 2) Sign a Petition Urging Israel to Provide Maps of Cluster Bomb Strike Locations The American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL) has posted a petition to U.S. officials, urging them to call on Israel to provide maps of cluster strike locations in southern Lebanon. Israel's refusal to provide Lebanon with such a map has been a significant hindrance to demining efforts . Please sign it and help spread the word. 3) Cluster Bomb Call In Day Nets Three Senate Cosponsors on S.594 Since the U.S. government is not taking part in global negotiations to ban cluster bombs (the "Oslo Process" ), we are urging Congress to pass a law in 2008 that will prevent further use of U.S. cluster munitions in civilian populated areas. The law is called the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act (S.594). On November 5, nearly 2,000 people called on their Senators to cosponsor this legislation. More than a dozen groups co-sponsored the event and mobilized their networks-including many that had not engaged the issue before. And the calls worked! A constituent in Maryland reported: "I received a call back [Nov. 8] from Senator Cardin's office informing me that he will co-sponsor S.594." Senator Cardin was joined a few days later by Senator Wyden (OR) and Senator Kerry (MA), bringing the total number of co-sponsors of the Cluster Munitions Civilian Act to 15. 4) Global Day of Action: Press Conference in DC and Beyond On November 5 activists in 40 countries took action to call on their government to ban cluster bombs. The U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines organized a Capitol Hill press conference on that day. Lynn Bradach (pictured at left), the mother of a U.S. marine who was killed in Iraq by a U.S. cluster bomb, asked Congress to honor the memory of her son by banning the weapon that killed him. Her call was joined by Congressman Jim Moran (VA), Serge Duss of World Vision, and Simon Conway of Landmine Action. Actions also
took place across the country. In Houston, TX social work students
at the University of Texas organized a public art display and action
with high school students they had been instructing on human rights
issues-with a case study on cluster bombs. At Haverford College
in Pennsylvania, students organized a showing of "Bombies" ,
a movie documenting the impact of cluster bomb use in Laos, and
encouraged students to write letters to Senator Specter following
the showing. And at the annual meeting of the American Public Health
Association, students from Emory University held a poster session
on cluster bombs, lobbied their representatives, and encouraged
others to write post cards. And a speakers tour organized by the
Mennonite Central Committee traveled throughout the East Coast
and Midwest. 5) CCW Agrees to "Go Slow", While Oslo Process Surges Ahead In mid-November, the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
(CCW) agreed to, possibly, consider negotiations on cluster bombs.
The move is widely considered a ploy by those who oppose a strong
global treaty on cluster bombs to derail the Oslo
Process,
where 84 countries have made great progress toward a treaty banning
the weapon. The next round of the Oslo Process will take place
in Vienna in early December. The U.S. government will not be present. For more information on the US Campaign to Ban Landmines, go to www.banminesusa.org U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines To make a donation to the US Campaign to Ban Landmines go to: www.banminesusa.org/support/body.html and click on Donate. |
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| For more information on the Mine
Ban Treaty and countries that have ratified it, contact the International
Campaign to Ban Landmines www.icbl.org
US Campaign to Ban Landmines |