DON'T WATER DOWN CLUSTER BOMB AGREEMENT - MEP

11.25.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 19th May 2008

A Liberal Democrat MEP is pleading with the UK government not to weaken a possible landmark treaty banning cluster bombs which may emerge from this week's Dublin conference.

Over 100 countries are gathering this week, the majority of which want to see cluster bombs banned. However some of the biggest producers, including the US, Russia and China are against any such agreement.

Liz Lynne MEP sits on the European Parliament's Human Rights Subcommittee and has long campaigned against the weapons. Speaking today she said:

"The Dublin conference is a unique opportunity to outlaw weapons which indiscriminately kill and maim. The UK government's attempts to water it down could undermine any agreement. They must look beyond their narrow commercial and supposed military interests by fully entering into any treaty.

"Many senior generals admit these weapons do little to achieve military aims, so UK claims that the latest generation are much more reliable and should be kept, could condemn a new generation of civilians to horrific injury and death in conflict zones.

"A historic treaty banning landmines was achieved a decade ago, but to this day unexploded cluster bomblets are still having much the same effect that mines used to. We need an immediate moratorium on the use, investment, stockpiling, production, transfer or export of all cluster munitions. All states that have used them must accept responsibility for their clearance."

ENDS

Notes:

Liz Lynne co-authored a European Parliamentary resolution on banning cluster bombs in October 2007 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/028-12353-295-10-43-903-20071024IPR12335-22-10-2007-2007-false/default_en.htm

She also launched a Written Declaration on the subject in March 2007, in part to mark the 8th anniversary of the Ottawa treaty on landmines, because despite unexploded bomblets having much the same effect as landmines, they were not included in this treaty.

She also ran a petition in her West Midlands region constituency asking individuals to protest to the Prime Minister against the use of cluster munitions which received an encouraging response from her constituents.