CLUSTER BOMBS: MEPs DEMAND A STOP TO THE KILLING

12.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 25th Oct 2007

The European Parliament today adopted a resolution which MEPs hope will pave the way for an eventual global ban on cluster bombs.

Liberal Democrat MEP Liz Lynne, a long time campaigner against the use of cluster munitions and Member of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights, co-tabled the resolution on behalf of the Liberal and Democrat group having led previous campaigns in the Parliament for a ban.

Speaking in the preceding debate on the subject, Liz said:

"Every year thousands of civilians, many of them children, are indiscriminately killed or injured by cluster bombs. Dreams are shattered and lives are destroyed.

"Take the case of the Iraqi boy Ahmed Kamel who, attracted by a shiny object, picked up a bomblet and it exploded - he lost both of his hands and his sight. How is a 12 year old to make sense of this?

"The shocking fact is that cluster munitions are stockpiled in over 15 EU Member States and at least 10 EU Member States are producing them - France, Spain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and Bulgaria. It is my view that these countries, as well as of course those who have used them, including the UK, have blood on their hands.

"Whilst I welcome moves by countries such as Belgium to establish national legislation to ban cluster munitions, all other EU Member States must follow. I urge the Council and the Commission to endorse the Oslo process.

"Diplomatic manoeuvres by the UK Government and others to suggest there are "dumb" and "smart" cluster munitions must be given short shrift. They all kill and maim. The word 'smart' could not be more misleading or more inappropriate.

"We need an immediate moratorium on the use, investment, stockpiling, production, transfer or export of all cluster munitions by all EU Member States. All states which have used them must accept responsibility for their clearance and the Commission must urgently increase financial assistance to the communities affected by unexploded bomlets."

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Liz Lynne MEP ran a petition in her West Midlands region constituency asking individuals to protest to the Prime Minister against the use of cluster munitions which received an encouraging response from her constituents.

In February 2007, 46 countries signed up to a declaration in Oslo, to 'work towards a ban on cluster munitions'.

On the 1st of March 2007, Liz Lynne launched a Written Declaration at the European Parliament in order to trigger a debate on the subject in the European Parliament. This was in part to mark the 8th anniversary of the Ottawa treaty on landmines, because despite unexploded bomblets having much the same effect as landmines, they were not included in this treaty.

It is estimated the 98% of cluster bomb casualties are civilians. The Israeli Military dropped four million bomblets on Lebanon in summer 2005. At least 300,000 of these failed to go off but are still live in the country. Cluster munitions have also been widely used in Iraq, Afghanistan and Serbia.