CLUSTER MUNITIONS NEWS/UPDATES

Dear All,



On the 18 March an event was held at the UN in New York to promote universalisation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The Convention was ratified by Laos and signed by the DRC at this event. It well attended, with 72 states participating, and a large number giving statements updating on their ratification procedure. Below is an overview of the statements given by Governments at the meeting.



Best wishes



Portia



72 states participated in the event:

Angola, Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, DR Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Holy See, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen.



Norway urged more states to sign and ratify the Convention and expressed the need to ensure rapid entry into force which will help to strengthen the norm against cluster munitions. Norway urged states to start implementation of the Convention before entry into force. It highlighted the effective partnership between civil society, states, the ICRC and the UN which will also be crucial to ensure effective implementation.



Lao PDR announced that its Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister signed the ratification instrument on 16 March and that it will deposit its ratification instrument at the event today. Laos said that half of its provinces are still contaminated by cluster munitions and that implementation would be challenging and will require assistance. Laos said it is ready to promote the Convention for rapid entry into force and that it is ready to host the first Meeting of States Parties.



Mexico announced that the Senate adopted a decree to ratify the Convention on 11 March. Before the ratification instrument can be deposited it must be published in the official journal which will happen in the coming days. It also expressed its commitment to universalise the Convention.



Australia confirmed that it had started the parliamentary process to ratify the Convention as soon as possible. It also announced that between 2005 – 2010 it had pledged $75 million to assist clearance operations in Afghanistan , Laos and Lebanon . Australia urged all states to make signature and ratification a priority. Australia thanked the Cluster Munition Coalition and the inspirational role of survivors and the partnership between states, civil society and international organisations that helped to ensure the success of the process.



Lesotho announced it would soon start the parliamentary process to ratify the Convention and will make it a matter of priority. Lesotho said it supports all efforts to for full universalisation and implementation and that all states should hasten efforts to sign and ratify because the responsibility to protect civilians squarely rests upon the shoulders of us all. Lesotho said the very existence of weapons like cluster munitions presents a threat to humanity.



Germany is pushing forward the ratification process and hopes to ratify before the (European) summer begins. In the end of February a draft bill was passed by the Bundesraat and is now waiting for the Upper Chamber to approve it. Germany also announced that it will host a conference on stockpile destruction in June inviting signatories with stockpiles and other states with specific interests in this issue. Germany called on states to follow their example and sign the Convention.



Italy announced that it has started its ratification process which is proceeding at an ‘encouraging pace’, and that it is committed to rapid entry into force of the Convention. Italy also said it has committed 7 million Euros to humanitarian demining in 2008.



Uruguay said that the President will sign the official request for Congress to begin the process to ratify the Convention in the coming days, and that it will take the necessary steps to move it forward. Congress is very supportive and Uruguay expects a short ratification process.



New Zealand said it was considering the necessary steps to ratify the Convention, and that it looked forward to seeing implementation of the Convention. New Zealand welcomed the Convention as a landmark instrument and said that signing is the first step and that we now need to see tangible results highlighting the importance of the victim assistance provisions and welcoming the broad definition.



Spain announced that today the Lower Chamber in the Spanish parliament completed the ratification and that the Upper Chamber will ratify it in the coming days before it can deposit its ratification instrument. Spain said it had prepared a timetable for implementation of the Convention for specific actions to be taken, starting before entry into force. Spain has started stockpile destruction which will be completed shortly. It will provide international cooperation and assistance, particularly to ensure implementation of victim assistance. Last year Spain made a contribution to a UN fund that will provide funds to Lebanon for clearance. Spain said that it has never used cluster munitions but when it adopted the Convention in Dublin it was a producer, stockpiler and exporter and by signing the Convention it has assumed a military and economic cost showing its priority for humanitarian imperatives over military and industrial interests.



France announced that entry into force is a high priority for the government and that the ratification process has been started.



Belgium said it will ratify as soon as possible when the Federal and Regional parliaments give their consent and legal procedures have already been put in place towards this end. Belgium was the first country to ban cluster munitions. Belgium has committed to completing its stockpile destruction within 3 years, starting after national legislation banning cluster munitions was passed in June 2006, so by 2009 Belgium will no longer have cluster munitions in its possession. It is currently gradually transferring its stockpiles abroad for destruction. Belgium noted the active contribution of Belgian deminers to clearance efforts including in Lebanon . Belgium also supports a number of projects related to the cluster munition problem. It strongly supports the coherent non-discriminatory approach to victim assistance. Like anti personnel mines it believes that the prohibition of cluster munitions should become a universal norm, and in this regard Belgium will submit an amendment to the International Criminal Court to make it a war crime to use cluster munitions.



Austria said that the domestic ratification procedures were well underway, having received the approval by the Lower House of the parliament and is now awaiting for the Upper House to approve ratification which is expected in the coming weeks. Austria already has a law in place banning cluster munitions since January 2008. Austria welcomes the provision on victim assistance in particular which should become the new standard for victim assistance. It said Austria is convinced the Convention will succeed not only because of the comprehensive ban but also because of its broad stigmatising effect.



Iraq announced that it has ‘paid a lot of attention’ to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and that the Cabinet has recently approved signature to the Convention and that the legal procedures to sign are now being carried out. As a country affected by cluster munitions Iraq expressed the need for rapid entry into force to assist affected countries.



Bulgaria reminded us that 25 states must ratify the Convention for it to enter into force and that ‘this may seem like just a number to some but for affected states this number is crucial’. Bulgaria said it has started the ratification process and that it would be completed soon.



Zambia said that as a signatory state it cannot fail to ratify the Convention. The procedures for ratification have been started and will be completed soon.



Ireland was proud to host the conference that adopted the Convention and that this success would not have been possible without the active and vigorous role of civil society coordinated by the Cluster Munition Coalition. Ireland said that this is just the beginning of the work and that the momentum of this process must not be lost, it requires sustained action and is a priority issue for the Irish government and will continue to do everything it can to promote the treaty.



Ecuador said it has been very active including hosting a regional conference to promote signature on the region and that it has appreciated the collaboration with civil society in that event. Ecuador has started the process of ratification and that it expects its new Congress that will soon be elected in April to ensure a short ratification process.



Nicaragua said the President has sent the Convention to its parliament for ratification and it hoped to complete the ratification process soon.



Peru said it has supported the process since the beginning as a member of the core group and as host of the Lima Conference. Peru announced that it has begun the ratification process and that it will soon ratify and urged other states to sign.