Progress made on cluster bomb eradication, but there is a lot left to do

Photo courtesy@ALSO and CCD

The seventh annual cluster munition monitor report was released today in Geneva, Switzerland and it outlines the progress being made to eradicate these weapons.

While 100 countries have ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) and many have destroyed their stockpiles (including Canada), the report shows that civilians in countries which have refused to sign on to the CCM – or are in conflict with countries that have not signed the CCM – are suffering the most.

New cluster bomb casualties have been recorded in Syria and Yemen – and according to the monitor, 97 per cent of victims are civilians.

More than 20,300 cluster munition casualties have been documented globally from the 1960s, up to the end of 2015. Many casualties, however, go unrecorded or lack sufficient documentation. The estimated number of global all-time casualties for 33 countries and three other areas is more than 55,000.

The stigmatization of using cluster bombs appears to be paying off. The NGO community has been using a name and shame campaign to get both financial institutions to stop investing in cluster bombs and get manufacturers to stop making them. 

In Canada, NEI Investments announced some time ago it will no longer invest in companies that produce these weapons. 

Yesterday, the US company, Textron, announced it will cease manufacturing cluster munitions.

To read the full report click here.