Countries Seek to Undermine Treaty with Loophole for US Cluster Bombs

Press Release – Cluster Munition Coalition

Wellington, 19th February 2008 – On the second day of a five-day conference to develop a historic treaty banning cluster munitions worldwide, nine governments are attempting to create a loophole that will allow them to assist the USA to use cluster munitions. The Cluster Munition Coalition strongly condemns the hypocrisy of these countries trying to ban cluster bombs while assisting other countries to use them.
 
"These weapons kill civilians - this is hypocrisy of the worst kind by countries that claim the moral high ground and yet trade away the lives of victims to serve the interests of the USA" said Rae McGrath, spokesperson for Handicap International.
 
Over three quarters of countries that stockpile cluster munitions and half the countries that produce the weapon are participating in the Wellington conference. Although the USA is the biggest, producer, stockpiler and user of cluster munitions, it is not part of the Oslo process and is therefore also not present in Wellington.
 
A group of US allies engaged in the talks to ban cluster munitions are concerned that when they sign the new treaty it will be difficult for them to participate in joint operations with other countries that are not party to the treaty. Japan had the support of Australia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Slovakia, Turkey and the United Kingdom who have been raising concerns about the issue known as 'interoperability'.
 
Although these nine countries say they are committed to the process to ban cluster munitions, they are proposing that while they could be prohibited from assisting in the production or transfer of cluster munitions they should not be prevented from assisting other countries like the US, in using cluster munitions. The United States has been lobbying several states on this issue with official visits. NATO allies Norway, which is spearheading the process and Belgium, which has a national ban on cluster munitions insist that the new global treaty will not put their international operations at risk. Austria, Indonesia, Ireland and the International Committee of the Red Cross have also resisted such proposals to weaken the treaty.
 
"This goes against the precedent set by other treaties like the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Mine Ban Treaty*", said Norwegian People's Aid's Grethe Østern, a co-chair of the Cluster Munition Coalition. "*The experience of the past decade with the ban on antipersonnel mines shows that interoperability can be dealt with without fracturing alliances," She added.
 
More than 500 representatives from over 100 governments as well as campaigners and survivors of cluster bombs from 38 countries are gathering in New Zealand today for the penultimate meeting of the Oslo Process. This global effort is set to culminate with the adoption in Dublin in May 2008 of a treaty to ban cluster munitions, assist survivors and ensure clearance of their land. The Oslo Process has drawn the support of two-thirds of the world's nations.
 
For more information, photography and interviews contact:
Press contacts at the conference and for international media: 
Natalie Curtis: +44 (0) 7515 575174, natalie@stopclustermunitions.org
Samantha Bolton: +64 (0) 210 221 9456, samanthabolton@gmail.com