News from Labour Matters

Gordon Brown bans cluster bombs, pushes for 108 nations to follow suit

“We have decided we will take all our types of cluster bombs out of service,” Gordon Brown declared today, and with those fifteen words he both reversed UK military policy and broke the deadlock in a 109-country conference discussing a ban on the controversial weapons.

Cluster bombs have become increasingly controversial as their use has highlighted that many of the multiple bomblets fail to explode on impact and that their size and shape attract attention from children, often with tragic consequences.

Speaking from Downing Street, the Prime Minister said:

“We have decided, after a great deal of discussion, that we can help break the log jam so that we can get international agreement that would ban cluster bombs.

“We have decided we will take all our types of cluster bombs out of service.

“I believe that is going to make a difference to the negotiations that are now taking place.

“I look forward to other countries following us in this action and I look forward to other countries being able to take these cluster bombs out of service.

“I think this would be a big step forward to make the world a safer place.”

Talks to ban the stockpiling and use of the weapons began in Norway in February 2007, but a 10-day conference currently being held in Dublin threatened to remain deadlocked until the Prime Minister took his decisive action. An international agreement is now expected to be agreed on Friday, but this still would not totally eliminate their use. Israel, Pakistan, China and Russia, along with the US, are among the main producers and stockpilers of the weapons. They all oppose any ban. The policy of the US may change if Barack Obama were to win the Presidency in November however, as he has already voted in the Senate against their use by US forces.

There is currently no international law making the use of cluster bombs illegal, but the Prime Minister’s action brings such a global ban one step closer. In the past, UK forces has deployed thousands of cluster bomblets in both Bosnia and Iraq. It is not know how many failed to explode on impact and subsequently killed or maimed innocent civilians.

BREAKING NEWS: At 8pm it has been reported that the Dublin conference has indeed broken its deadlock and agreed an international ban on such weapons.

More details about the international campaign to ban cluster bombs can be found at www.stopclusterbombs.org