Senators Introduce Bill Banning Cluster Munitions in Civilian Areas
Quaker Lobby Welcomes Effort to Control Indiscriminate Weapons
For immediate release: February 14, 2007
Senators Diane Feinstein (CA) and Patrick Leahy (VT) today introduced important new legislation that would ban the use of U.S. made cluster bombs in civilian areas. The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) welcomes the introduction of the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2007.
This landmark legislation bans the United States from using cluster bombs in civilian areas and would prohibit the U.S. from exporting cluster bombs to any other country that would use these weapons on civilians. The legislation would also ban U.S. funding for the use, sale, or transfer of cluster munitions that might drop explosive “duds” that later explode, killing innocent civilians.
U.S. cluster munitions have reportedly been used in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia, and Laos. The U.S. has transferred cluster munitions to over twenty countries, including countries with poor human rights records such as Pakistan and Indonesia. In addition to limited U.S. use of these indiscriminate weapons, the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2007 would require any country who buys U.S.-made cluster munitions to agree to not use such weapons in civilian areas
“This new cluster bomb legislation is an important step toward stopping the use of these weapons on civilians. The United States should not be in the business of using or selling indiscriminate weapons that have proved in conflict after conflict to have a disproportionate effect of civilians,” said Joe Volk, FCNL’s Executive Secretary. “Passage of this vital legislation will help the U.S. Senate reassert itself as a global leader in humanitarian affairs.”
A cluster munition consists of a canister designed to open in mid-air and disperse smaller submunitions, often referred to as bomblets or grenades. The wide dispersal pattern of submunitions makes it very difficult to avoid civilian casualties if civilians are in the area where the bombs are dropped. Moreover, while they are designed to explode on impact, many of the submunitions initially fail to detonate, leaving behind large numbers of hazardous explosive “duds” that are akin to landmines. These “duds” injure and kill civilians and contaminate the land long after conflicts have ended.
In a recent statement calling for strong international action to end the human tragedy associated with cluster munitions, the International Committee of the Red Cross stated that “it is a terrible reality that civilians are so often caught up in the horrors of modern conflict, but it is utterly unacceptable that they should return to homes, villages and fields littered with explosive debris. Cluster munitions are often the worst offenders. It is time for decisive action to address this situation.”
Find out more about FCNL's work on arms control.
_____________________
The Friends Committee on National Legislation, the oldest registered religious lobby in Washington, is a non-partisan Quaker lobby in the public interest. FCNL works with a nationwide network of tens of thousands of people from every state in the U.S. to advocate for social and economic justice, peace, and good government. For more information: http://www.fcnl.org
More Press Releases
|
