Convention on Cluster Munitions

Since EPIC guest blogger Marla Bertagnolli of CIVIC posted her blog about the dangers of cluster bombs to innocent civilians, 111 nations have adopted a treaty that limits the production and use of these weapons. What countries were not part of the agreement you ask? Sadly, none of the major producers and users of cluster bombs. These nations include Russia, China, Israel, India, Pakistan, and you guessed it, the United States of America.

Never the less, the Washington Post reports that: "Advocates of the ban said they hope the agreement, which was supported by rich nations and poor from Scandinavia to Africa, will have the same effect as the 1997 ban on land mines, reducing use (of cluster bombs) even among non-signatory countries."

The treaty is set to be signed by the respective participant nations this
December.

Photo Caption: Men walk by cluster bombs in Najaf, Iraq in 2003. Getty Images