Ban on cluster munitions to enter into force

“At last it is clear that the convention banning cluster munitions will enter into force. With this convention, we have helped to make the world a safer place, strengthened humanitarian law and, not least, ensured that victims will receive assistance,” said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

Burkina Faso and Moldova deposited their instruments of ratification with the United Nations last night. This means that 30 states have ratified the convention, which is the number required for it to enter into force, which will be on 1 August this year.

“Norway will, in keeping with the convention, destroy all its cluster munitions in the course of the next few months. We are also contributing more than NOK 100 million a year for clearance of affected areas and assistance to victims of cluster munitions,” said the Foreign Minister.

“We are looking forward to coming together in Laos at the end of 2010 for the first meeting of states parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” he said.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions was opened for signature in Oslo on 3 December 2008. So far 104 states have joined the international ban on cluster munitions. The convention prohibits any use, stockpiling, production, acquisition or transfer of cluster munitions. It also sets out an obligation for states to destroy their own stockpiles and assist affected countries in clearing hazardous unexploded ordnance that is left on the ground. Victims are also entitled to assistance under the convention.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions was finalised at a diplomatic conference in Dublin in 2008, following an initiative taken by Norway in what is known as the Oslo process. The convention is the result of a unique partnership between states, the UN, the International Red Cross movement and humanitarian organisations.