United Nations Call For Ban On Chemical Weapons, Cluster Munitions

Paul Icamina
AHN News Writer
November 7, 2007 

New York, NY (AHN) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday urged countries to ratify and adhere to global treaties banning chemical and unexploded weaponry even as the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) prodded governments to ban deadly arms which pose a great threat to civilians, especially children.

Ban made his remarks in messages to two separate meetings: in The Hague on the The Chemical Weapons Convention, and in Geneva on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Covering Explosive Remnants of War.

The chemical weapons convention has 182 parties - almost universal membership and representing 98 per cent of the global population - but some key countries are not a part of the pact.

He cited Albania for a "landmark achievement" in its destruction of its entire stockpile of chemical weapons in July this year.

Ban called the explosive remnants of war - munitions that have not functioned as intended or have been abandoned - "of no military benefit" and should also be banned.

Cluster weapons also disproportionately impact on children, UNICEF said in a statement, adding one of three cluster munitions casualties in Afghanistan were children.

During the Kosovo war, more children were hurt by cluster munitions than by anti-personnel land mines, which are just as indiscriminate and have been prohibited by many nations.