Updates from Dublin

29 May, 2008 - After nearly two weeks of negotiations in Dublin, the world has agreed to ban cluster munitions.

In an historic breakthrough that will save thousands of innocent lives across the globe, Australia has joined the majority of other states represented at the Dublin talks and informally accepted the draft treaty.

“With this treaty we have outlawed every type of cluster munition that has ever been used,” says James Turton, Co-ordinator of the Cluster Munition Coalition of Australia.

Tonight’s provisional text will be formally adopted on Friday morning (Ireland time), after the various delegations have had a chance to report back to their national capitals.

The treaty includes strong provisions on all of the key issues: rejecting calls for a transition period - which would have allowed states to continue using cluster munitions and sets a maximum time limit on stockpile destruction.

Despite the development of a strong, new treaty the Cluster Munition Coalition of Australia is challenging our government to take a proactive role in ensuring that states who haven’t signed the treaty never use cluster munitions again.

“We congratulate the Australian Government on their efforts to secure a strong legal instrument that bans all cluster bombs forever.  However we’re deeply disappointed that Australia is responsible for inserting a loophole in the treaty and we will be holding the government to account to ensure that cluster munitions are never used again.” says Austcare Chief Executive and former UN Mine Action Advisor, Archie Law.

More than 100 government delegations and 300 specialist campaigners from around the world have spent the past fortnight working on the most significant disarmament treaty in more than a decade.

“While we’re not entirely happy with the provisions on interoperability, in general this is a strong treaty that marks the beginning of the end of these devastating weapons,” says James Turton.

“I am very proud that countries have made the right decision here and prioritized people over weapons,” says Branislav Kapetanovic, who’s in Ireland after a cluster bomb claimed his arms and legs.

28 May, 2008 - There are fears Australia is threatening the integrity of the most significant disarmament treaty in more than a decade. 

For the past week intense negotiations have been underway in Dublin to develop a comprehensive worldwide ban on cluster munitions.  While Australia has been leading on some issues, such as victim assistance, they have been unwilling to lead on the single most important one.

The aim of the treaty is to ban cluster munitions, however some countries are attempting to weaken the text of the treaty and allow states who sign the treaty to continue to assist those nations still using cluster munitions.

“Given that Australia says it has never had, never used and will never use cluster munitions, it is totally inconsistent for us to be advocating for other States to be able to continue using this weapon. Australia’s position effectively puts our national security concerns above other people’s human rights,” says Austcare Chief Executive and former UN Mine Action Advisor, Archie Law, who arrived in Dublin overnight.

“This new treaty text effectively means that we can load the gun, we just can’t pull the trigger,” says veteran Australian Campaigner, John Rodsted.

“Unfortunately the Rudd Government has failed to even meet with civil society on this issue.  Over the past few months repeated attempts to meet with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Defence have been consistently rejected,” says CMCA Coordinator, James Turton.

Campaigning organisation “Get Up” has led a major push against the current Australian position and in only five days 35 thousand Australians have petitioned the federal government to drop its stance on operating in coalitions with other countries that will be using cluster munitions. The Australian people are saying to the federal government that they want the strongest possible treaty and our delegation in Dublin should do everything possible to achieve that.

With only 48 hours remaining to negotiate this treaty Australia must take a lead and work towards the strongest possible ban.

26 May, 2008 - While the negotiating rooms have been full of tough arguments and differences of opinions that in some cases seem as though they’ll be impossible to overcome, there are already signs that the most significant disarmament treaty in more than a decade will be a reality by the end of this week.

Already France and the UK have made positive movements and Austcare’s team working in Dublin is quietly optimistic that the Australian Government will come around.

The fantastic results from GetUp campaign are reaching Ireland and it’s proved a huge boost to all those who are working on trying to get a deal that will ultimately save many innocent men, women and children around the world.

Another thing giving those in Dublin hope is the local public response.  Over the past few days campaigners and cluster bomb survivors from around the world who are in Ireland have been taking the message to the streets.  There have been major public events like street marches and a simulated “cluster strike” in the CBD and the owner of a local pub has even decked his place out in ban cluster bombs gear.  It seems even every taxi driver in Dublin knows what’s going on, is a passionate supporter of a ban.

That public pressure is going a long way towards giving the Irish Government, as host, a strong mandate to keep pushing for a strong treaty and the locals want Ireland to be the place where “something special” is born.

With more than 100 governments represented there is still a lot of work to be done, but with the collective will of so many people from Australia, and around the world, there’s little doubt we will have a treaty to be proud of by the end of this week.

Of course more can always be done and the Australian Government needs to know that the people are behind this process.  For that reason it’s vital that everybody supports the efforts of organisations like Austcare and GetUp joins the battle to ban cluster bombs.