News

A humanitarian victory

The Convention is the result of one and a half year’s negotiations, and among the signatures will be 18 out of 26 NATO countries, among others UK, France and Germany. Only the USA and countries such as Romania and Slovakia have so far chosen not to sign.

The Danish Red Cross and DanChurchAid welcome the Convention and the Danish signature as a great humanitarian Victory – and as an important recognition of the fact that cluster bombs are causing serious civilian suffering all over the world.

”In our work and every day we face the cruel consequences of cluster bombs that kill and maim innocent men, women and children. And that is why we celebrate the Danish participation in the group of countries that are now totally banning cluster bombs”, says general secretary in the Danish Red Cross , Anders Ladekarl, and general secretary in DanChurchAid, Henrik Stubkjær.

For two years, The Danish Red Cross and DanChurchAid have cooperated on a campaign to make Denmark support an international, legally binding ban on cluster bombs. 11.000 danes have signed our petition for a ban.
”Cluster bombs are indiscriminate weapons, killing innocent people during war time – and once the soldiers have left the battle field they leave behind unexploded bomblets that kill and maim civilings long time after war is over. This is a bestial kind of weapons that a number of countries have now come together to ban – but of course we still have a long way to go”, says Anders Ladekarl.

A number of countries that produce and use cluster munitions are not signing in Oslo. But Henrik Stubkjær takes solace from the fact that the convention will also set the international standards for these countries:

”Ten years ago the ban on landmines was won, and even if a number of the same countries did not sign the ban they have refrained from using land mines. Now we’re just waiting to start destroying the enormous stocks of cluster weapons and clear the polluted areas. We’ll start working now!” HenrikStubkjær promises.