Cluster munitions until 2007
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1943
Early forms of cluster bombs are first used, by the Soviet Union against Germany and by Germany against Britain during World War II.
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1964-73
UNA-UK condemns the first large-scale use of the weapon, by the US in Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao People's Democratic Republic.
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1970s & 1980s
The US restricts sales of cluster munitions to Israel in the 1970s, following large-scale civilian casualties in fighting against Syria and Lebanon.
In 1974-76 states meet to assess the laws of armed conflict and conclude that cluster munitions are ‘on the very border-line of humanitarian acceptability’. Sweden proposes a ban and is backed by 12 other states. Negotiations lead to the adoption in 1980 of the UN Convention on Conventional Weapons.
In 1982 the US termninates sales to Israel after attacks on Lebanon. The British use the weapon in the 1980s in the Falklands conflict, as does the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, and Morocco in Western Sahara.
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| 1990s |
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1997
The landmine convention is signed by 122 states (158 as of 2008) but cluster munitions are not included.
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1999
NATO’s deployment of cluster munitions during the Kosovo conflict causes more civilian casualties than any other weapon. President Clinton suspends their use by US forces after a particularly devastating attack.
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2001-2003
The US deploys the weapon in Afghanistan in 2001-02. US and UK forces use cluster bombs during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, where they kill and maim more civilians than any other weapon.
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| 2006 |
| 17 December |
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July-August
The UN's humanitarian chief calls Israel’s use of the weapon in southern Lebanon ‘completely immoral’, with 90 per cent of strikes taking place after the ceasefire had been agreed. The conflict draws attention to the weapon’s horrific post-conflict impacts and catalyses states to seek an international ban.
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December
The Norwegian government announces that it will host a meeting in Oslo in early 2007 aimed at launching diplomatic negotiations towards a treaty banning cluster munitions.
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| 2007 |
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16 January
UNA-UK Chair Lord Hannay writes to Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett urging the government to give its full support to the so-called ‘Oslo process’.
UNA-UK members follow this up with letters to MPs.
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23 January
UNA-UK receives a reply from the Foreign Secretary. She says the government shares UNA-UK’s concern about the weapons humanitarian impacts and confirms the UK’s attendance at the Oslo conference.
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22 February
The inaugural conference of the Oslo process takes place. Attended by 49 states and many NGOs and UN bodies, the meeting concludes with 46 countries, including the UK, endorsing the Oslo Declaration – a commitment to conclude by 2008 a new legally binding instrument by 2008 that prohibits ‘the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians’.
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24 February
The UK government’s decision to sign the Oslo Declaration is labelled a ‘U-turn’ by the Independent.
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26 February
UNA-UK joins the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) – a global network of around 300 NGOs campaigning for a comprehensive ban.
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20 March
Defence Secretary Des Browne announces that the UK will immediately cease all use of so-called ‘dumb’ cluster munitions.
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1 April
New World features a briefing note outlining UNA-UK’s concern over the misleading distinction between different models of the weapon, and calls attention to the humanitarian risks of so-called ‘smart’ bombs.
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13-15 April
UNA-UK Annual Conference agrees a policy resolution objecting to the government’s retention of ‘smart’ cluster munitions.
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23-25 May
28 new states join the Oslo process at the second meeting, hosted by Peru in Lima.
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5 November
UNA-UK staff and members participate in the CMC’s UK day of action against cluster munitions and add their names to a giant signature board.
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5-7 December
Diplomatic momentum towards a ban picks up at the third Oslo process meeting, hosted by Austria in Vienna. On the eve of the conference Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voices UN backing for the treaty, noting the ‘high humanitarian, human rights and developmental stakes’ involved. Tim Kellow attends the conference as a member of the CMC’s delegation, and lobbies many developing country delegates to sign up to the treaty.
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17 December
An early day motion authored by UNA-UK is tabled by Martin Caton MP and receives 75 signatures. EDM 602 expresses concern that the UK and other stockpiler countries ‘are seeking to water down the treaty by introducing an exemption for cluster munitions that have self-destruct mechanisms’.
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| 2008 |
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1 January
New World features an article outlining challenges for negotiations on the ban and encourages members to write to their MPs to urge them to sign EDM 602.
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18-22 February
New Zealand hosts the fourth Oslo process meeting in Wellington. Over 100 states sign the Wellington Declaration, committing them to participate in the final negotiations at a key conference in Dublin in May. Delegates also agree a framework text for the treaty.
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28-30 March
UNA-UK Annual Conference agrees a policy resolution urging the UK to work in good faith towards a treaty ‘with no distinctions or reservations between different categories of cluster munitions’. UNA-UK members sign a CMC petition calling on the UK to support such a ban.
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2 April
Lord Hannay writes to Foreign Secretary David Miliband to relay the Annual Conference resolution. UNA-UK members write to their MPs, urging them to call on the government to ensure that the treaty is not watered down.
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19 April
UNA-UK holds the UK’s headline event to mark the CMC’s global day of action to ban cluster munitions. Hosted by Central Region UNA in Birmingham, the meeting features presentations from Tim Kellow and Landmine Action’s Richard Moyes. More signatures are collected for the CMC petition.
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28 April
Lord Hannay and other leading UK CMC members hand over the petition to the Foreign Secretary. It boasts more than 30,000 signatures, many from UNA-UK members.
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16 May
The Foreign Secretary responds to Lord Hannay’s 2 April letter, reaffirming the UK’s commitment to achieving an international ban at the Dublin conference.
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19 May
As delegates gather in Dublin for the final Oslo Process meeting, The Times publishes a letter by nine former British commanders warning the government that ‘to choose a course that seeks to exempt the UK’s remaining stocks from a ban risks creating loopholes that others will inevitable exploit. Most importantly it will not achieve the stigmatisation of cluster munitions, which must be our objective if we are to prevent the proliferation of these weapons’. UNA-UK’s Tim Kellow attends the conference as part of the CMC delegation.
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30 May
107 states agree the new treaty. The ban is categorical, with no transition periods or exceptions allowed. Prime Minister Gordon Brown plays a key role with a last-minute intervention announcing the UK’s support for a total ban.
Lord Hannay writes to the Foreign Secretary, copying in the Secretaries of State for Defence and International Development, to congratulate the UK for helping to secure the treaty. The letter also urges the government now to ‘throw its full weight behind efforts to achieve the maximum support for the convention by other governments and the largest possible number of signatories to the convention’. A UNA-UK press statement is also issued.
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26 June
The Foreign Secretary responds, praising UNA-UK’s advocacy for the ban and stating the government’s intention to encourage other states to support the new convention.
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3 December
The convention opens for signature in Oslo. It will enter into force once it has been ratified by 30 countries.
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| 2010 |
| Entry into force of the treaty! |
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