The first of more than 100 countries have begun signing a treaty to ban current designs of cluster bombs, at a conference in Oslo, Norway. Campaigners are hailing the treaty as a major breakthrough. But some of the biggest stockpilers, including the US, Russia, and China are not among them.
First developed during World War II, cluster bombs contain a number of smaller bomblets designed to cover a large area and deter an advancing army. But campaigners, including some in the military, have long argued they are outmoded and immoral because of the dangers posed to civilians from bombs that do not explode and litter the ground like landmines.
Although many of the world's biggest stockpilers of cluster munitions will not be signing the treaty, its backers say the move will help stigmatise the weapons. As he opened the signing convention in Oslo, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said the treaty would make the world safer, but had been too long in coming. "Too many people lost their lives and their limbs; too many futures were shattered," he said. "The tragedy of their needless suffering is matched only by our joy today in being able to prevent more human misery in the future."
The treaty, agreed upon in Dublin in May, will not ban cluster weapons outright, reports the BBC's defence and security correspondent, Rob Watson. It allows for the development of cluster bombs with greater precision and lower failure rates - an approach the US in particular says it is already pursuing.
As well as banning the current design of cluster bombs, the treaty also provides for clearance in those countries littered with unexploded bomblets. Campaigners say that even big countries like the US and Russia that have not signed the treaty would not want to be stigmatised any more by links to cluster bombs.
Jody Williams, an anti-landmine campaigner and Nobel Peace Prize winner, said the US had "essentially obeyed" all the elements of the treaty and she hoped US President-elect Barack Obama would sign it. "Mr Obama tells us to look for hope and change," she told Reuters news agency. "I like hope and change, but I want to see him sign it."
The treaty will come into effect six months after 30 states have ratified it and deposited the instruments with the UN, Reuters reported. "We need 30 ratifications as soon as possible so that the obligations in this treaty will begin to bite," said Thomas Nash, co-ordinator of the London-based Cluster Munition Coalition. The signing convention in Oslo is expected to last two days, after which the treaty will go to UN headquarters in New York where more states will be able to sign.
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