46 Countries Sign Ban On Cluster Bombs

   So what else has happened since I first woke up?

   Well, in Norway, 46 countries signed a declaration calling for the ban of cluster bombs because the bombs generally keep on killing and maiming people even after the conflicts are over.

The  U.S., Russia, Israel and China didn't even attend the conference in Oslo and Poland, Romania and Japan didn't go along with declaration that was signed.

AP 

Cluster bomblets are packed by the hundreds into artillery shells, bombs or missiles which scatter them over vast areas, with some failing to explode immediately. The unexploded bomblets can then lie dormant for years after conflicts end until they are disturbed, often by civilians.

As many as 60 percent of the victims in Southeast Asia are children, the Cluster Munition Coalition campaign group said. The weapons have recently been used in Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Lebanon, it said. The U.N. estimated that Israel dropped as many as 4 million bomblets in southern Lebanon during last year's war with Hezbollah, with as many 40 percent failing to explode on impact.

Mark Regev, spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry said: "During the recent conflict in Lebanon Israel used no munitions that were outlawed by international treaties or international law."

 

Technorati tags: Norway, Cluster Bombs, Declaration