Yesterday, over a hundred states, including Britain, signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo. The Convention means that its signatories will no longer be able to produce, use, sell or store cluster bombs and, although countries like the United States, Russia and China didn’t take part in the ceremony, the hope is that it will eventually result in a worldwide ban on the use of such weapons. As Edward Davey, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, said yesterday,  there is no place for these indiscriminate weapons in the 21st century. 

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Commenting on Gordon Brown’s statement that he is backing a ban on all cluster bombs, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, Edward Davey said:

“A total ban on cluster munitions is long overdue, but we need clarity on timetable and details before we can celebrate any Government u-turn on this issue.

The Prime Minister must also make clear whether he will continue to allow the US to store its own cluster munitions on British territory. If he is serious about ending the scourge of these weapons, he must bring this abuse of the ‘special relationship’ to an end. Read more »

The Government has no idea how many unexploded British cluster bombs remain from conflicts around the world, the Liberal Democrats have found.
 
In a Parliamentary answer, Defence Minister Bob Ainsworth admitted that he could not provide an accurate estimate of the number of unexploded British cluster munitions which still have to be cleared following their use in Iraq, Kuwait, Serbia and Kosovo.
 
Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, Edward Davey said:
 
“These weapons have a terrible legacy, yet the Government appears to have no idea how many it has used and how many have been made safe.
 
“It is incredible that the Government cannot even provide an estimate as to the nature of the threat. Read more »

Responding to today’s news that the Foreign Office has signed the Wellington Declaration, paving the way for a prohibition on the use of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey, said:

“Though any steps to limit the use of cluster munitions must be welcomed, we need a real commitment to banning all so-called ‘smart’ as well as ‘dumb’ cluster munitions. Read more »

The Liberal Democrats’ Shadow Defence Secretary Nick Harvey has been campaigning against cluster bombs. In this video, he explains why.