Meeting the challenge : protecting civilians through the Convention on Cluster Munitions / [Bonnie Docherty].

New York, NY : Human Rights Watch, [2010]

©2010

UG1282.C45 D64 2010

Protecting civilians through the Convention on Cluster Munitions

1564327116
9781564327116

i, 224 pages : illustrations ; 27 cm

(OCoLC)690129805

"For half a century, cluster munitions have inflicted suffering on civilians. Bystanders to armed conflicts have lost limbs and lives and had their livelihoods destroyed. During strikes, cluster munitions blanket broad areas with submunitions that spray high-velocity fragments in all directions. Many of these submunitions fail to explode on impact and linger for months or years, endangering unsuspecting children or farmers. Proliferation of cluster munitions has spread the potential for harm around the world, and the need for clearance of cluster munitions and victim assistance has imposed additional costs. While the threat persists, the international community has taken a strong stand against cluster munitions. After traditional disarmament approaches fell short, a group of like-minded states, in collaboration with civil society, moved discussions to an independent forum. The product of these negotiations is the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, a groundbreaking treaty that addresses all of the problems of the weapons. It not only prohibits use, production, transfer, and stockpiling, but also requires stockpile destruction, clearance, and victim assistance. It seeks both to eliminate the chance of future harm and to minimize the pain generated by past use. The convention became binding law on states parties when it entered into force on August 1, 2010, but much work remains to be done. States must now strive to universalize the convention, implement all its obligations, and adopt strong interpretations of key provisions. This comprehensive book, which represents the culmination of a decade of research by Human Rights Watch, seeks to build on the momentum of the convention's entry into force and contribute to achieving a world free of cluster munitions. It draws on field investigations to document the suffering cluster munitions cause to civilians. It examines the process to ban the weapons, borrowing from Human Rights Watch's firsthand experience as an active participant in the development of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It also provides a thorough legal analysis of the convention and details the steps needed to fulfill the convention's promise. The book concludes that this absolute and multifaceted convention is the only viable solution to the scourge of cluster munitions."--P. [4] of cover.

"November 2010"--Table of contents page.
"This report was written by Bonnie Docherty, senior researcher in the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch."--P. 224.

Also issued online.

Convention on Cluster Munitions (2008 May 30)

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