Although now the issue is more widely known about, the battle against cluster munitions began in the late 1960s.

 

Outraged by the massive use of cluster munitions by the U.S. Army in Vietnam, the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre is the first person to publicly denounce the use of these weapons.

 

Lebanon and 12 other states launch an appeal for a ban on cluster munitions during the Diplomatic Conference on international humanitarian law. This call remains unanswered.

 

Despite insistent appeals for progress, including from Kofi Annan, and regular debates on the issue, the States participating in the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) fail to agree on a solution to the problem of cluster munitions.

 

During the Kosovo conflict, cluster munitions were used by the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. 1,765 bombs, containing nearly 295,000 submunitions, were dropped on Kosovo and between March and June.

 

The protests become stronger as the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organisations increasingly complain about the consequences of cluster munitions on civilians. Some states and the European Parliament start to request a ban.

 

Continuing the battle that started with the campaign against landmines, 109 NGOs, including Handicap International, decide to create the Cluster Munition Coalition which now includes over 170 NGOs worldwide. Handicap International launch a worldwide petition against cluster munitions. In six years, more than 750,000 people sign it.

 

In just one month, millions of submunitions are scattered over southern Lebanon. One million of them do not explode on impact. The scourge of cluster munitions is under the spotlight - in November, Norway, supported by NGOs and several states, decides to launch negotiations for their prohibition. This is the start of the Oslo Process.

 

After Handicap International and the other NGOs of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) spent three years of mobilizing civil society and States, Norway launched the Oslo Process, with the objective of reaching a ban on cluster munitions by the end of 2008.

Negotiations to ban cluster munitions open in February 2007 in Oslo. Throughout the process, affected countries and those in the South clash with countries that are producers, stockpilers and potential users of cluster munitions, notably on the definition of the weapon.

On 3 December 2008, 94 countries sign the Oslo Treaty.

107 States, including France, agree on the text of the future treaty to ban cluster bombs.

94 States sign the treaty. Four States sign and ratify at the same time.

The first 30 States to ratify the treaty became States Parties on this date. States that have ratified the treaty thereafter will become States Parties six months after the date of their ratification. Up until the entry into force of the treaty, States Parties had to go through two stages: Signing then ratifying the treaty. After the entry into force, States must accede directly (sign and ratify simultaneously); they cannot sign with the intention to ratify later.

Entry into force of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, six months after the ratification of the 30th State.

1st Meeting of States Parties to the Oslo Treaty in Laos, the most affected country in the world. The States parties adopted a politic declaration and a 66-points action plan for clearance, destruction of stockpiles and victim assistance.

2nd Meeting of States Parties to the Oslo Treaty in Lebanon. It will be an opportunity for the States to show their commitment to the Convention, especially in reporting on the Vientiane action plan and the next steps to efficiently implement the Treaty, particularly on victim assistance and clearance.

 

NEXT PAGE: Progress so far

 

> TAKE ACTION NOW!