Ireland: Landmark treaty bans cluster bombs

More than 100 nations have reached an agreement on a treaty which would ban current designs of cluster bombs.

Diplomats meeting in Dublin agreed to back an international ban on the use of the controversial weapons following 10 days of talks. But some of the world's main producers and stockpilers – including the US, Russia and China – oppose the move.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown called it a "big step forward to make the world a safer place" and announced that Britain would be taking cluster bombs out of service.

The final draft of the treaty went before delegates from a total of 109 countries on Wednesday afternoon.

Bomblets
Cluster bombs have been used in countries including Cambodia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Lebanon. They are made up of a big container which opens in mid-air, dropping hundreds of smaller individual sub-munitions, or "bomblets", across a wide area.

Countries like the US, India, Pakistan and Israel claim such munitions are highly useful on the battlefield, but opponents say that where the bomblets fail to explode they leave a deadly legacy for civilians. During the conference, delegates have heard first-hand accounts from survivors of cluster bomb attacks.

Speaking at Downing Street earlier, Mr Brown said: "I am delighted that the negotiations in Dublin have come to a successful conclusion and congratulate the Irish Government and all those involved. "I am confident that this agreement is in line with British interests and values, and makes the world a safer place."

The BBC's Paul Adams reporting from Dublin said he understood the agreement would outlaw the two types of cluster munitions currently held by UK forces, but would not prevent countries from developing future generations of weapons based on the concept of sub-munitions. And he said it appeared the UK hoped other countries not present in Dublin, notably the US, might be persuaded to accept the treaty later.

More info
www.stopclustermunitions.org