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Cluster Bombs Kill Innocent Civilians; International Ban on the Horizon
98% of cluster submunition casualties are innocent civilians.
Zahra, a 12 year-old girl from south Lebanon, said it was shaped like a coloring box with a kind of pyramid on top. As soon as she picked up the cluster bomb it exploded and blew her thumb off. "I can't play. I don't go out. I used to have fun with my friends," says Zahra. "But I can't play with them anymore. They keep teasing me about my fingers and they tease me about my thumb that it won't grow back."
A cluster bomb attack can instantly kill and maim civilians, but the danger remains long after the initial attack. Twenty out of every 100 bomblets do not explode immediately. Cluster bombs have recently been used in Iraq, Afghanistan and South East Europe, and Laotians are still suffering from the effects of unexploded bomblets that were fired over thirty years ago.
The Oslo Process:
Due to the humanitarian devastation caused by the use of cluster munitions, the international community has made a commitment to create a treaty to restrict the use of cluster munitions. In January 2007, Norway announced its intention to establish a new international process to write a treaty to ban cluster bombs. Now known as the "Oslo Process," in just over thirteen months, more than 100 countries have committed to support the process. LSN is a leader in the Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC), the civil society force that is made up of over 250 organizations and works together to encourage governments to participate in international negotiations. Demining, human rights, development, grassroots and disability organizations are all part of the CMC.
To learn more about the international process to ban cluster munitions, click here.
U.S. National Policy:
The United States Congress is also considering national measures to restrict the use of cluster munitions, particularly in civilian populated areas. Currently a bill is being discussed in both the House of Representatives and the Senate (H.R. 1755/S. 594), the "Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act", which calls for the U.S. to stop using cluster munitions in civilian populated areas. You can help pass this bill by contacting your Representatives and Senators. For more information on national policy, click here.
Photo: Alison Locke
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