The Dublin Conference

Cluster Bombs have been employed by various nations for decades. When dropped, the initial casing releases ‘bomblets’ that then spread across a target area. There are numerous classifications for various purposes ranging from incendiary to anti-tank to anti-personnel, and numerous others aimed at affecting specific targets such as runways and electrical infrastructures. The problem with Cluster Bombs is that not all of the bomblets explode on impact and can lay dormant for decades waiting to be triggered by innocents that happen upon them. In the 70’s the United States dropped two million tons of ordinances on Laos. Of that, it is estimated that some 260 sub-munitions did not explode and, to this day, claim the lives of innocent Laotians. In Vietnam, it is estimated that 300 civilians are killed every year by unexploded bomblets. During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006 Cluster Bombs were also used by the Israeli Air Force. It is estimated that a quarter of the bomblets failed to explode and have since resulted in over 200 civilian casualties.

I mention this because tomorrow in Dublin a conference begins at which participants will attempt to negotiate a treaty that will ban the production, use, stockpile, and sale of cluster bombs. Unfortunately, some of the world’s foremost powers (the United States, China, and Russia) have refused to attend and, not surprisingly, oppose the treaty. Business is, after all, business.

Unfortunately, that’s a difficult perspective to try and explain to a 13-year-old that’s had their legs blown off, but that’s the world we live in.