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Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs In This Edition...
"Yes, we've been hearing lots about this," Senator Amy Klobuchar's office told callers on March 30. The calls were among more than 1,500 made to senate offices, urging senators to 'give cluster bombs the boot' by becoming co-sponsors of S. 416, the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2009. S. 416 would prohibit further use of nearly all cluster munitions by the U.S. military and help move U.S. policy in line with that of its closest allies, who signed a treaty banning these weapons last December. The bill, which already has 24 co-sponsors, complements a piece of legislation enacted into law three weeks ago that permanently bans exports of nearly all U.S. cluster bombs. New York Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, collectively, got more than 300 calls on this issue. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry received 130 calls. Senators Amy Klobuchar (MN), Carl Levin (MI), Arlen Specter (PA), and George Voinovich (OH) each received between 70 and 90 calls. But so far, none of these senators has come on the bill! Keep the pressure on by e-mailing your senators and calling their in-state offices to remind them that you are paying attention and that you want them to help end the use of weapons that always kill and wound more civilians than soldiers. 2) Celebrating 10 Years of Saving Lives and Limbs Georgians planted trees in former minefields, landmine-disabled Turks played basketball in wheelchairs, and West Virginia students released balloons announcing, 'A Mine Free World Is Possible!' The cause of this global hubbub? The tenth anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty, which became binding international law in March 1999. The West Virginia students, who call themselves Proud Students Against Landmines/Cluster Bombs, wrote letters to President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, published an article in their city newspaper, and lobbied at their state Capitol. As a result of their efforts, Senator Robert Byrd (WV) became a new co-sponsor of the cluster bomb bill (S. 416)! The Mine Ban Treaty, which 156 countries have joined, has dramatically reduced the number of mine users and producers and has saved countless lives and limbs. The UN has scheduled a Review Conference in Cartagena, Colombia for December 2009, to examine the treaty's implementation. Attendance at the conference would be a good first step for the U.S., which is one of only three dozen countries that have not yet joined. Help encourage Secretary Clinton to attend by writing a letter to your local paper about this important treaty! For inspiration, read a recent op-ed by former ICBL chair and Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams, urging President Obama to sign the landmine and cluster bomb treaties. Thirty-four years ago, on April 30th, Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces, finally ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. But millions of cluster bomblets and other unexploded ordnances (UXO) left behind continue to kill and maim -- in Laos and Cambodia, as well as Vietnam. Laos, which has long been isolated from the international community, has taken a surprising lead role in the new global treaty banning cluster bombs. In March it became the fifth country to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions and will host the treaty's first review conference five years after the treaty enters into force. As a party to the treaty, it will be required to clear its land within ten years of the massive ordnance dumped on it by American planes in the 1960s and 70s. Several of USCBL's coalition members are working to redress this continuing deadly legacy in Southeast Asia. Legacies of War, a Lao-American organization, educates on the issue and advocates for the removal of unexploded bombs in Laos; the Mennonite Central Committee has worked to bring the cluster bombing of Laos to public attention for more than two decades; Handicap International promotes disability rights and aids landmine/UXO victims in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia; and Adopt-A-Minefield funds demining in all three countries. 4) The Last Use of Cluster Munitions? Human Rights Watch has just released A Dying Practice: Use of Cluster Munitions by Russia and Georgia in August 2008. This 80-page report is the first comprehensive study of the last -- meaning both 'most recent' and, hopefully, 'final' -- use of cluster munitions. According to HRW, the loss of lives and livelihoods from cluster munitions use during the August 2008 armed conflict reinforces the importance of the treaty negotiated and signed last year banning this weapon. 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 on the Mine Ban Treaty, go to www.icbl.org |