Nearly 30 additional countries join initiative for a ban on cluster munitions

At a conference held in Lima from 23 to 25 May, nearly 30 additional countries joined the international process aimed at securing a ban on cluster munitions. This means that more than 70 states have are now supporting the initiative that was launched in Oslo in February this year.

The conference that was held in Lima from 23 to 25 May was a follow-up on the Oslo conference in February, at which 46 countries aligned themselves with a declaration calling for an international ban on the use of cluster munitions that have unacceptable humanitarian consequences. Nearly 30 more states were represented at the Lima conference, including two of the countries that are hardest affected by cluster munitions, namely Cambodia and Laos.

“It is very encouraging that the process aimed at securing a ban on cluster munitions is gaining support from an increasing number of countries,” said Deputy Director General Steffen Kongstad. Norway considers it particularly important that countries that are affected by cluster munitions participate actively in this process.

Many of the new joiners are African countries. This is important as recent reports indicate increasing proliferation of cluster munitions on the African continent. Several African states attending the conference stated that an international ban on cluster munitions would be an important tool to prevent further use of cluster munitions in Africa.

In connection with the Lima conference, Hungary and Switzerland announced that they would introduce national moratoriums on the use of cluster munitions, as Norway and Austria have done earlier. In addition, Peru launched a regional initiative to make Latin America the world’s first cluster-munitions-free region.

The Lima conference was the second gathering in the process that was started in Oslo in February, aimed at securing an international ban on cluster munitions that have unacceptable humanitarian consequences. The Lima conference was attended by representatives of 68 countries, the UN, the International Red Cross and the international coalition of humanitarian organisations "Cluster Munition Coalition".

The next official gathering forming part of this process will take place in Vienna in December.