111 Countries Adopt Convention to Ban Cluster Munitions

(Cluster bombs in Laos - ICRC )

During an international conference that is currently taking place in Dublin, 111 countries pledged to adopte a landmark convention that globally bans cluster bombs.

The treaty will be formally signed in December 2-3 in Oslo. The full text of the document can be found here.

Critics of the treaty point to Article 21 as a loophole, which allows signatories to cooperate with non-signatories. However, the general consensus is that the treaty allows the world to take a huge step in the protection of civilians and will hopefully be a stepping stone to bolster the fight to ban landmines.

What are cluster bombs?
Cluster munitions or bombs are large explosives that contain submunitions that are either triggered from the ground or dropped from aircrafts. They have the potential to cover and kill everyone in an area of the size of several football fields. At least 14 countries have used cluster munitions since World War II.

The use of cluster bombs has had devastating effects against innocent civilians. Not only do they indiscriminately kill, but the duds that do not explode remain in the ground to be lethal for many generations to come. For example, the International Committee of the Red Cross reports how a third of the 270 million cluster munitions that were dropped in Laos in the 1960s continue to kill and terrorize civilians even today. These weapons are still being used in many armed conflicts around the world today, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

For more info, check out and support the Cluster Munition Coalition.