Information on Loughborough
News Index
2012
Feb 2012Jan 2012
2011
Dec 2011Nov 2011
Oct 2011
Sep 2011
Aug 2011
Jul 2011
Jun 2011
May 2011
Apr 2011
Mar 2011
Feb 2011
Jan 2011
2010
Dec 2010Nov 2010
Oct 2010
Sep 2010
Aug 2010
Jul 2010
Jun 2010
May 2010
Apr 2010
Mar 2010
Feb 2010
Jan 2010
2009
Dec 2009Nov 2009
Oct 2009
Sep 2009
Aug 2009
Jul 2009
Jun 2009
May 2009
Apr 2009
Mar 2009
Feb 2009
Jan 2009
2008
Dec 2008Nov 2008
Oct 2008
Sep 2008
Aug 2008
Jul 2008
Jun 2008
May 2008
Apr 2008
Mar 2008
Feb 2008
Jan 2008
2007
Dec 2007Nov 2007
Oct 2007
Sep 2007
Aug 2007
Jul 2007
Jun 2007
May 2007
Loughborough MP welcomes ban on cluster bombs
Posted on 04/06/2008
Andy Reed, MP for Loughborough, has welcomed news that after 10 days of intense talks in Dublin, an agreement has been reached on a new international Convention prohibiting the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of all cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.
Cluster munitions or cluster bombs are air-dropped or ground-launched munitions that eject a large number of smaller submunitions: in other words a cluster of bomblets. The most common types are designed to kill enemy personnel and destroy their vehicles. Submunition based weapons designed to destroy runways, electric power transmission lines, deliver chemical or biological weapons, or to scatter land mines have also been produced. Some submunition based weapons can disperse non-munition payloads, such as leaflets.
Reed has campaigned for many years in Parliament calling for a ban on cluster bombs. This convention is a major breakthrough and builds on the UK’s leadership on landmines and the Arms Trade Treaty.
The Loughborough MP said:
“I am delighted that the UK Government is leading on this issue and is helping to establish an International Convention banning cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.
“For many years I have raised humanitarian concerns about these particular weapons with Ministers, so I am delighted action is being taken. These weapons scatter ‘sub-munitions’ over a wide area, and because those sub-munitions can have a high failure rate, this invariably means it is civilians bearing the brunt of their impact.
“Up to 60 per cent of the victims of cluster munitions in Southeast Asia are children and UN also estimates that the recent conflict in Lebanon left as many as 1.6 million unexploded munitions. DfID has already provided £1.5 million to clear up unexploded cluster munitions in Lebanon and spends around £10 million per annum on clearing mines and explosive remnants of war, including unexploded cluster munitions – a cost that is totally avoidable with international co-operation.”
The UK does not produce or export any cluster munitions