Source: Cluster Munition Coalition

Cluster Munition Coalition Press Release – While the international community gets ready for the First Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) to be held from 7 to 11 September in Dubrovnik Croatia, Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) members around the world celebrate the fifth anniversary of entry into force of the CCM. The Convention was adopted in 2008 in Dublin, Ireland, and entered into force two years later.

To mark 1 August, worldwide advocacy events were organized in order to encourage governments to pursue efforts towards joining and implementing the global ban on cluster munitions.

Regional simultaneous events were organised in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Suriname to promote the universalization of the convention in the Caribbean region. The Caribbean Coalition for Development and the Reduction of Armed Violence (CDRAV) in collaboration with the Embassy of Costa Rica in Trinidad and Tobago and the United Nations Information Centre hosted a screening of the video “On safer Ground”. The screening of the video was followed by a regional discussion regarding the CCM and the need for all Caribbean countries to join the convention.

As reported by The Costa Rica Star last year:

Seven years ago, Costa Rica hosted the regional meeting of the Convention on Cluster Munitions for Latin America and the Caribbean. These days, Costa Rica is the leading member state in this noble effort.

Cluster bombs are war munitions that are usually launched from the air. Upon approaching or hitting their targets, cluster bombs break up and separate into smaller explosives. These munitions were first developed by the Third Reich and deployed by the Luftwaffe against the Allies. They can be used as anti-personnel or anti-vehicle weapons, but they can also be used to drop leaflets as part of propaganda or psychological operations on civilian populations.

In terms of war-fighting, cluster bombs are efficient but they are also terrible weapons that Costa Rica would like to see eradicated. The Cluster Munition Coalition explains:

Cluster munitions are unacceptable for two reasons. Firstly, they have wide area effects and are unable to distinguish between civilians and combatants. Secondly, the use of cluster munitions leave behind large numbers of dangerous unexploded ordnance. Such remnants kill and injure civilians, obstruct economic and social development, and have other severe consequences that persist for years and decades after use.