Monday, May 26, 2008
Ken Rutherford, Co-founder of Survivor Corps, participates in a panel at the Dublin Conference on US policy on cluster munitions:
U.S. Senator Leahy joins supporters of a cluster bomb ban in Dublin
Why is the United States not participating in the Dublin Conference on Cluster Munitions? This is a question that flows through the hallways of the Croke Park stadium in Dublin, where negotiations are held.
Today, May 26, 2008, campaigners, government delegates and the media heard from a strong panel speaking on the U.S. and cluster munitions: U.S. Senator Leahy of Vermont; Lord Dubs of the United Kingdom; Ken Rutherford, Co-founder of Survivor Corps; Steve Goose, Director of the Human Rights Watch Arms Division; and, Jody Williams, founder of the ICBL and Nobel Laureate.
Senator Leahy, who has for many years been a Congressional leader against cluster munitions and landmines, made it clear that there is movement in Congress against cluster munitions, but that he can not speak for the U.S. administration. The British Lord Dubbs reaffirmed that in the U.K. there is support amongst the public for a prohibition on cluster bombs, and it is a matter of getting politicians on board.
In November, Senator Leahy explained, the American people will elect a new President, and this President must reintroduce the U.S. to the world again. “Weapons that are inherently indiscriminate, by design or affect,” concluded the Senator, “should have no place in this world in the 21st century.”
Ken Rutherford, co-founder of Survivor Corps, addressed contradictory U.S. policies: providing the most amount of money for clearance and victim assistance, but not participating in discussions to ban the weapon that causes all of these problems. The Leahy War Victims Fund, established in 1989, provides support for many victim assistance initiatives in cluster munitions affected countries from Laos to Ethiopia to Lebanon. This fund will be an imperative in ensuring the strong victim assistance language in the treaty text is implemented on the ground.
Jody Williams, long time activist and Nobel Laureate, noted, “the U.S. is the elephant NOT in the room”. The U.S. is strongly pressuring States participating in the Oslo Process from behind the scenes but is not coming to the Dublin Conference. This poses a hard situation for civil society and other government to take on the U.S. since they will not even come to the negotiations. Goose drove the point home: “Why do you (the U.S.) deal with cleaning up the mess and not the cure?” It is clear that there is movement in Congress against cluster munitions, but the current administrations remains skeptical and the new administration must re-engage with the world.
Click here to read more about the absence of the US in the formal negotiations in Dublin.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Campaigners call on US to stop bullying negotiators on cluster bombs
Survivors and campaigners protest outside Dublin US Embassy
The Cluster Munition Coaltion(CMC) today called on the US to stop bullying and spreading inaccurate statements in an obvious attempt to weaken the treaty to ban cluster bombs. Cluster munition survivors, campaigners from all over the world and the American Nobel Prize winner, Jody Williams today protested outside the US embassy in an effort to draw attention to the issue.
"The US is making misleading statements suggesting that if it can't use cluster munitions it can't help victims of natural disasters. This is a cynical attempt to try and intimidate the countries that are negotiating in good faith here in Dublin to ban these indiscriminate weapons" said Simon Conway, Co-Chair of the Cluster Munition Coalition and Director of Landmine Action.
The Cluster Munition Coalition, which brings together survivors and campaigners from all over the world, is advocating for a ban on the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions. The US government is threatening that the ban on clusters would prevent it from undertaking or participating in humanitarian operations. In fact, identical provisions in the treaty banning anti-personnel landmines have had no effect on US humanitarian efforts in the 9 years since the treaty came into force.
"We are here to ban cluster munitions, not to create loopholes that would make it easier for the United States to use them," said Steve Goose, CMC Co-Chair and Director of the Arms division at Human Rights Watch. "US allies in Dublin must resist the pressure from Washington."
The current draft treaty text includes a provision that obliges states parties to the treaty not to assist non-states parties with acts that are prohibited by the treaty, such as cluster munition use. The provision will help stigmatize cluster munitions, as well as deter states that are not party to the treaty from using them. Unfortunately, some states in Dublin are pushing for an exemption clause from the prohibition on assistance -Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Japan, Denmark, Germany and the UK.
The treaty process began in February 2007 in Oslo, and states are expected to adopt a new convention on May 30, 2008.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
You can take action to help ban cluster munitions and save civilian lives. Following the link below and send an email to the Foreign Ministers of some of the governments that are trying to weaken the treaty being drafted this week in Dublin. Call on these governments to negotiate and adopt the strongest treaty possible banning cluster bombs with no exceptions, no delays and no loopholes.
http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/take-action/contact-government/
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
This morning governments began intense discussions on Victim Assistance provisions, which are essential to a strong Cluster Munitions Treaty.
Survivor Corps, representing the Cluster Munitions Coalition, participated in discussions to ensure the perspective of practitioners providing services to survivors was heard. This aspect of the treaty deals with how cluster munitions victims are defined and how governments would be obligated help them. Several important points were discussed:
- The definition of cluster munitions victims should include their families and communities.
- A specific provision should be added to the treaty to ensure that survivors of cluster munitions are included in decisions making processes.
- Specific provisions should be added to the treaty ensure that the obligations of the convention are implemented at a national level.
Support was strong, especially for the second and third points. The discussions will continue tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Today, Survivor Corps and Handicap International coordinated discussion about the importance of adding specific victim assistance elements to the treaty, such as inclusion of cluster munition survivors in the process, and implementation of the treaty by governments at the national level.
Governments, policy leaders and survivors each presented their view about how to make victim assistance a reality, and how to build that goal into the language of the draft Cluster Munitions Convention.
Survivor Corps and Handicap International brought several key participants to the table, including Kevin Bryant, an expert in removing unexploded ordnance such as cluster bombs, who survived a landmine explosion; Richard Moyes, a Cluster Munitions Coalition leader; and Ra’ed El Rahhman Nokaled, a father whose 5 year-old son was killed by a cluster bomb in Lebanon.
Diplomat Markus Reiterer from the Austrian delegation, answered the following questions about the potential impact of victim assistance in the treaty:
Why do we need victim assistance in the treaty?
Because prevention does not work 100 percent of the time. There will be new victims who have the right to assistance.
Who will be assisted?
All those who suffered from the consequences of cluster munitions, including the families of those who are injured.
Who will provide this assistance?
The government under which jurisdiction the victim lives. When these governments do not have adequate resources, the governments of other states will have to help them provide assistance.
What needs to be done to provide victim assistance?
Begin with emergency medical care for victims, and then follow through with psychological support and full integration in society.
How will assistance be defined?
Victim assistance will be defined according to needs and rights of victims themselves.
When does the obligation end?
There is no deadline. The governments are obligated to provide assistance as needed for the lifetime of the victim.
Monday, May 19, 2008
On second day of negotiations, we are already seeing promising signs! Following intense lobbying of each individual government at the negotiations, first discussions took place on Article 5 of the treaty, which deals with Victim Assistance. Markus Reiterer, the delegate from Austria, led the discussions, in which a number of states from Latin America and Africa stressed the need to improve provisions on victim assistance. Argentina said it would contribute detailed recommendations on the text of the treaty. The Cluster Munitions Coalition’s proposals coordinated in advance by Survivor Corps were referred to frequently throughout the discussion, which will continue tomorrow.