Mennonite Central Committee

Oslo Treaty bans cluster bombs

January 18, 2009

In December of 2008, 94 countries gathered in Oslo, Norway, and signed a treaty banning the production, transfer, stockpiling and use of cluster munitions. When ratified by more than 30 countries, this treaty will enter into force, and become law for all those nation states that have signed.

The major European allies of the US signed the agreement, and some countries are already in the process of destroying their stockpiles. The US did not sign the treaty, and actively opposed its formation. The US joins other major military powers such as Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Israel in refusing to sign the treaty.

The treaty includes strong provisions for clean up, victim assistance, international cooperation, and stockpile destruction. The treaty represents a significant application of international humanitarian law to a specific weapon system, and clearly stigmatizes cluster munitions, making it difficult for countries not signatories to use them without international condemnation.

For more information on the treaty, known as the Convention on Cluster Munitions, visit:

www.stopclustermunitions.org/oslo2008/

www.osloccm.no/