|
A decade without landmines
Reuters
Norwegian Church Aid
Tuesday, 18 Septmeber 2007
Ten years after the Land Mine Convention was negotiated, support is now growing among state and civil society actors for the implementation of a similar ban on cluster munitions.
The International Land Mine Conference, held yesterday in Oslo, gathered together civil society actors from a number of countries to look back at the ten years since the convention was negotiated and share experiences. The aim was to learn from these experiences in a manner that will help promote human security for civilians worldwide in the years to come.
During the conference, the Forum for Environment and Development (ForUM), the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) released a statement to mark the ten-year anniversary and highlight the work still yet to be done.
The statement highlights three concrete processes where more action in required internationally:
- On Small Arms – states should immediately implement the United Nations Programme of Action, and support the development of an effective Arms Trade Treaty.
- On Nuclear Arms – we need more states to support the Nuclear Weapons Convention, an idea so far backed by 125 UN Member states, but in dire need of concrete action. Nuclear weapons are futile against any of today's real security threats. The NWC would provide for the elimination of nuclear weapons in much the same way comparable treaties have banned landmines and chemical and biological weapons. True human security, and the survival of our planet, will never be guaranteed until such weapons are eliminated.
- On cluster munitions - 80 states are participating in a new multilateral process based on the Oslo declaration calling for a ban on cluster munitions by 2008. Those who have not joined are called upon to do so, those already on board are encouraged to continue to support a cluster ban treaty that will put an effective halt to the use of these weapons and ensure assistance to, and inclusion of, affected communities and individuals.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/norchuraid/b3cccbe7b072259344f8f62ff1848960.htm
|
