The British Red Cross has warmly welcomed today’s signing of the Oslo Convention on Cluster Munitions by the United Kingdom and over a hundred other nations.

Cluster munitions have been a persistent humanitarian problem for decades, their unreliability leading to huge numbers of unexploded sub-munitions remaining on the ground long after hostilities have ceased.

These weapons have killed and injured thousands of civilians around the world.

The Oslo Convention seeks a solution to this problem by prohibiting the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of those cluster munitions deemed to be inaccurate or unreliable.

The Convention also contains provisions on the destruction of existing stocks, clearance of unexploded sub-munitions and assistance to individual victims.

“Vast areas have been left littered with unexploded ‘bomblets’, still live and ready to go off long after any justifiable military purpose has been served,” said Matthias Schmale, British Red Cross, Director of International. “In the worst cases these indiscriminately kill and maim innocent men, women and children, but these weapons have also rendered huge tracts of land unusable, cutting farmers off from their crops and visiting further suffering on families forced to risk their lives simply to pursue their livelihoods.”

“The Oslo treaty is an achievement of which all concerned should be rightfully proud, safe in the knowledge that unimaginable suffering has been averted by their actions,”

The United Kingdom Government played a critical role at the Dublin Conference in May 2008, which enabled the Convention to be adopted, and has also made efforts to involve States unlikely to sign the Oslo Convention in the parallel Convention on Conventional Weapons process, actions the British Red Cross very much supports.

It is important that this landmark treaty enters into force as soon as possible.  The British Red Cross therefore urges the Government to introduce implementing legislation as soon as the Parliamentary timetable permits.

An early ratification by the United Kingdom would send a clear statement of the Government’s commitment to the implementation of international humanitarian law.
Link to Red Cross UK