Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2009January 17, 2009 The Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act was reintroduced into both houses of congress with bi-partisan support in early February. The bills (HR 981 and S 416) prohibit the use of cluster munitions by the US if their failure rate is higher than 1%. The bill also prohibits the use of cluster munitions in areas normally inhabited by civilians. The export of cluster munitions by the US is currently banned. This ban will be extended via other legislation. The Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act would effectively prohibit the use of all current US cluster munitions, since no US models have achieved a failure rate of 1% or lower. The bill stops short of a comprehensive ban, such as that achieved by the Oslo Treaty, signed by 94 countries in December of 2008. The bill text and its progress in both houses can be seen at: Thomas.loc.gov. Search for the bill, using the House and Senate bill numbers above. Send a letter to your Senator or Representative, urging their support for this bill. Click here, and scroll down for a sample letter.
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