Leden van het Europese Parlement roepen alle lidstaten op om de overeenkomst over clusterbommen te ratificeren (en)
EU governments are urged to give their full backing to the international Convention on Cluster Munitions in a resolution adopted by the European Parliament on Thursday. Cluster munitions typically scatter a number of small explosives over a large area, some of which can fail to explode immediately, with tragic consequences for civilians.
MEPs welcome the imminent entry into force of the convention on 1 August 2010 but point out that not all EU Member States have signed and ratified it yet. They urge them to do so "as a matter of urgency before the end of 2010". The ratification by all 27 EU Member States prior to its entry into force would send a strong signal in support of the fight against weapons that kill indiscriminately.
Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey have not yet signed the convention. The states that have signed but not yet ratified are Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden.
MEPs also want the European Union to accede to this Convention in its own right and consider that the ban on cluster munitions should be a standard clause in agreements with third countries, alongside the one on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The aim of the convention
The convention will prohibit the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions as a category of weapons and requires states who have ratified it to destroy stockpiles of such munitions. It will establish a new humanitarian standard for the assistance of victims and will require the states concerned to clear unexploded cluster munition remnants that are left behind after conflicts.
What are cluster munitions?
Cluster munitions are weapons designed to disperse or release explosive submunitions, each weighing less than 20 kilograms. They pose serious risks to civilians when used around populated areas, owing to their typically large lethal footprint. In post-conflict settings the use of these munitions has caused many tragic civilian deaths and injuries, as unexploded munitions are often found by children and other unsuspecting innocents.
The resolution was adopted by 558 votes to 30, with 24 abstentions.