The Irish Government will host and chair the Conference, which is part of what has become known as the \x91Oslo Process\x92.

In February 2007 the Norwegian Government launched an initiative to create an international treaty that will \x93prohibit cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians by the end of 2008\x94.

Since the there have been three international conferences: Lima-Peru in May 2007; Vienna-Austria in December 2007; and Wellington-New Zealand in February 2008.

The Dublin Conference will see governments from up to one hundred countries discussing and negotiating the terms of the treaty before it is finally signed at the end of 2008.

This will be the largest international diplomatic conference held by an Irish Government in decades. It presents an historic opportunity to negotiate an international treaty that will end six decades of human suffering and misery.

The Red Cross Movement looks forward to the Conference concluding with an internationally agreed treaty which will:

• Prohibit the use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of inaccurate and unreliable cluster munitions;
• Require the elimination of existing stocks of inaccurate and unreliable cluster munitions;
• Provide for victim assistance, clearance of cluster munitions and activities to minimize their impact on the civilian population.

Check out Cluster Munitions: Decades of Failure, Decades of Civilian suffering; a short DVD prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). that provides an excellent explanation on cluster munitions, their devastating impact on civilians and the pertinent issues for discussion and debate at the Conference.