Sign the petition for a worldwide ban on cluster bombs
STOP CLUSTER BOMBS !
No to cowardly weapons
On 16 February 2006, Belgium became the first country to adopt the proposal for a law, which I put forward, which bans submunition weapons. This ban has been law in Belgium since the 18th of May 2006.
Submunitions, as they are also known, come in the form of a container which, once it has been dropped from an aircraft or fired by artillery, opens up and scatters tens, hundreds or thousands of bomblets on the ground. These weapons were originally intended to destroy or make military bases or other infrastructures inaccessible and hamper troop movements.
The collateral damage connected with the use of cluster bombs is dramatic. On average, 5 to 30% of the bomblets do not explode when they hit the ground. Like anti-personnel mines, these bombs are ready to go off on the slightest contact. They remain active for years, and cause appalling human suffering. 98% of victims are civilians!
This is an emergency! Handicap International estimates the number of cluster bombs in stock around the world at 4 billion.
If you also want to say STOP to submunitions, join us by signing the petition.
Philippe MAHOUX,
President of the Socialist Group at the Belgian Senate
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