Cluster bomb ban treaty reaches 30th ratification milestone

Will become binding international law on 1 August 2010

Brussels, 16 February 2010 – Burkina Faso and Moldova ratified the international treaty banning cluster munitions today, bringing the total number of ratifications to 30 and triggering entry into force on 1 August 2010, when the convention will become binding international law. Handicap International urges states to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions without delay and to honour their obligations on stockpile destruction, clearance and victim assistance. This is great news for all survivors, for Handicap International and the other organisations which have been campaigning against the use of these arms continuously for many years. But it is also just the start of a process since we now have to ensure that the treaty will really help to improve the daily life of survivors and communities affected by these barbaric weapons” says Stan Brabant from Handicap International.

Handicap International calls on the Government of Belgium to continue its efforts to universalize the convention. The organisation also urges European countries to sign, ratify and implement the Convention, and the EU to increase its support for mine and cluster munitions affected communities. Survivors want to see a significant and lasting improvement in their lives. From Belgium, the first country in the world to ban antipersonnel mines and cluster munitions as well as investments in those weapons, Handicap International expects the full implementation of its own domestic legislation, which includes the publication of a blacklist of cluster munitions producers by the Finance Minister by 1 May 2008 and the destruction of its own stockpile of cluster munitions by 9 June 2009, which has not been done to date. The Convention on Cluster Munitions bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions and requires countries to clear affected areas within 10 years and destroy stockpiles of the weapon within eight.

The Convention includes groundbreaking provisions requiring assistance to victims and affected communities. Signed in Oslo in December 2008, it is the most significant international disarmament treaty since the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty banning antipersonnel landmines.

The following 104 countries have signed the Convention

Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, DR Congo, Republic of Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte D’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, The Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar , Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tomé and Principe, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Zambia.

Of these, the following 30 countries have ratified the Convention
Albania (16 Jun 2009), Austria (2 Apr 2009), Belgium (22 Dec 2009), Burkina Faso (16 February 2010), Burundi (25 Sep 2009), Croatia (17 Aug 2009), Denmark (12 February 2010), The Holy See (3 Dec 2008), France (25 Sep 2009), Germany (8 Jul 2009), Ireland (3 Dec 2008), Japan (14 Jul 2009), Lao PDR (18 Mar 2009), Luxembourg (10 Jul 2009), Macedonia (8 Oct 2009), Malawi (7 Oct 2009), Malta (24 Sep 2009), Mexico (6 May 2009), Moldova (16 February 2010), Montenegro (25 January 2010), New Zealand (22 Dec 2009), Nicaragua (6 Nov 2009), Niger (2 Jun 2009), Norway (3 Dec 2008), San Marino (10 Jul 2009), Sierra Leone (3 Dec 2008), Slovenia (19 Aug 2009), Spain (17 Jun 2009), Uruguay (24 Sep 2009), Zambia (12 Aug 2009).