Ban cluster munitions!
Source: Norwegian Church Aid - Norway
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Delegates from
around the world have gathered in Oslo this week to discuss a future ban on cluster munitions. "A full ban on cluster munitions is long overdue," says Gunstein Instefjord.
The Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions (OCCM) will be held in Oslo from Febrary 21st – 22nd and aims to launch a new international process for a treaty rejecting the use of cluster munitions and dealing with the devastating effects of these weapons. The hope is that this process will lead to an international ban on cluster munitions – similar to that which has already been achieved against landmines.
Opening the conference this morning, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre said,
"Cluster munitions containing un-detonated explosives have been spread across large areas in many countries. We now see with horror the humanitarian consequences that this has had. We must put a stop to the use of cluster munitions and speed up the removal process in the areas that have already been affected. If we do not do this, we will face a greater problem than that posed by landmines,"
Norwegian Church Aid's head of Department for Development Policy, Gunstein Instefjord, has praised the initiative, and vouches to work towards achieving a full ban on cluster munitions during 2008.
"A full international ban on cluster munitions is long overdue. We give our full support to the Norwegian government's initiative and hope that the Oslo conference will signify the beginning of a process that will result in an international ban on this kind of munitions in the course of 2008," said Gunstein Instefjord, head of Norwegian Church Aid's Department for Development Policy shortly after the Oslo Conference was opened this morning.
"Norwegian Church Aid will actively make use of the network of which it is a member to support this process. We will challenge churches, faith-based organizations and international ecumenical organs to work to support this crucial process," Instefjord continued.
Earlier this week Norwegian Church Aid together with its Danish sister organization Dan Church Aid issued a communiqué calling for a freeze upon all use of cluster munitions and a new international treaty prohibiting the use of such weapons internationally.
For more information:
The Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions (OCCM) will be held in Oslo from Febrary 21st – 22nd and aims to launch a new international process for a treaty rejecting the use of cluster munitions and dealing with the devastating effects of these weapons. The hope is that this process will lead to an international ban on cluster munitions – similar to that which has already been achieved against landmines.
Opening the conference this morning, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre said,
"Cluster munitions containing un-detonated explosives have been spread across large areas in many countries. We now see with horror the humanitarian consequences that this has had. We must put a stop to the use of cluster munitions and speed up the removal process in the areas that have already been affected. If we do not do this, we will face a greater problem than that posed by landmines,"
Norwegian Church Aid's head of Department for Development Policy, Gunstein Instefjord, has praised the initiative, and vouches to work towards achieving a full ban on cluster munitions during 2008.
"A full international ban on cluster munitions is long overdue. We give our full support to the Norwegian government's initiative and hope that the Oslo conference will signify the beginning of a process that will result in an international ban on this kind of munitions in the course of 2008," said Gunstein Instefjord, head of Norwegian Church Aid's Department for Development Policy shortly after the Oslo Conference was opened this morning.
"Norwegian Church Aid will actively make use of the network of which it is a member to support this process. We will challenge churches, faith-based organizations and international ecumenical organs to work to support this crucial process," Instefjord continued.
Earlier this week Norwegian Church Aid together with its Danish sister organization Dan Church Aid issued a communiqué calling for a freeze upon all use of cluster munitions and a new international treaty prohibiting the use of such weapons internationally.
For more information:
- Download the joint NCA/DCA cluster munitions communiqué here
- Oslo Conference homepage
- Dan Church Aid website
- Gunstein Instefjord, Department for Development Policy, Norwegian Church Aid, tlf.: 905 96 780
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]