BAN THE CLUSTER BOMB; Evil device that has killed and maimed more than 100,000 people, Ahern signs historic treaty to..Byline: BY MICHELLE MICHELLE Mid-Infrared Echelle Spectrograph O'KEEFFE JUSTICE Minister Dermot Ahern Dermot Christopher Ahern (Irish: Diarmuid Ó Eachthairn, or Diarmuid Ó hEichiarn; born 2 February, 1955) is a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician who currently serves as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. pledged yesterday to ban cluster bombs which have killed and maimed more than 100,000 people worldwide. He signed the historic treaty in Oslo, Norway, on behalf of Ireland which will put an end to the use, production and stockpiling of the deadly munitions mu·ni·tion n. War materiel, especially weapons and ammunition. Often used in the plural. tr.v. mu·ni·tioned, mu·ni·tion·ing, mu·ni·tions To supply with munitions. . Minister Ahern, who witnessed the devastation caused by the devices in Lebanon, joined 107 other countries to ratify the Convention On Cluster Munitions. He said: "These bombs, often designed to look like toys or decorations, have maimed and killed children and adults around the world. "Long after wars have ended, their deployment provide a legacy of ongoing death and destruction. "The signing of this convention by 107 countries is a major international move against their manufacture and critically their usage. "I am equally proud of the vital role Ireland played in securing agreement to ban the munitions at the Dublin conference in May. "Having seen for myself the terrible harm done by cluster munitions in Lebanon, I was determined that we should spare no effort in working for a complete ban on these weapons. "We must focus now also on clearance and stockpile destruction as further crucial steps. "The Convention has state of the art provisions on victim assistance. "We owe it to victims and affected families and communities to enable them to lead productive and dignified lives by giving real meaning to these provisions." The explosives, which splinter into smaller bombs, are blamed by human rights experts for killing or injuring civilians indiscriminately. More than 100,000 people have been killed or wounded by them since 1965, a third of them children. Amnesty International Amnesty International (AI,) human-rights organization founded in 1961 by Englishman Peter Benenson; it campaigns internationally against the detention of prisoners of conscience, for the fair trial of political prisoners, to abolish the death penalty and torture of Ireland welcomed the signing and ratifying by the Government of the Convention. Executive director Colm O'Gorman said: "While many states signed the treaty only Ireland and Norway ratified. "For it to become legally binding, it must be ratified by 30 countries, so we need other states to follow positive example set by Ireland and Norway. "Campaigners and survivors of cluster bombs were centrally involved in the whole process. "Cluster munitions stand out as the weapon that poses the gravest dangers to civilians since antipersonnel an·ti·per·son·nel adj. Abbr. AP Designed to inflict death or bodily injury rather than material destruction: antipersonnel grenades. mines, which were banned in 1999. "This Convention also raises the bar for treaties covering conventional weapons, particularly around victim assistance." CAPTION(S): NOBODY IS SAFE Afghan boy injured after he was hit by unexploded US bomb; TRIGGER HAPPY Britain, Israel and the US have all used evil 'bomblets'; DEAL Ahern yesterday |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion