International Conference on cluster munitions in Oslo 22 and 23 February 2007

Berne, 23.02.2007 - Switzerland supports the final declaration of the International Conference on cluster munitions which was held in Oslo on 22 and 23 February. It has committed itself to take part in a process which by the end of 2008 should lead to the drafting of an international treaty banning the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions, which cause unacceptable damage to civilians.

49 States as well as the ICRC, the United Nations and representatives of civil society took part in the Oslo conference, which was announced by the Norwegian government at the end of the Third Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) held in Geneva last November. The Swiss delegation was led by Mrs Christine Schraner Burgener, ambassador and deputy head of the Directorate of International Law of the DFA, and it comprised representatives of DFA and DDPS.

The conference reached a successful conclusion. On the basis of unanimous recognition of the serious humanitarian problems caused by cluster munitions and of the urgent need for action, a group of important States undertook to conclude by 2008 an  international treaty banning the production, use, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs which cause unacceptable damage to the civilian population. It was also agreed to establish a legal framework for cooperation, assistance to victims and the destruction of stockpiles. In addition, the final declaration stresses the importance of measures that every state can take at the national level to effectively reduce the damage to civilian  populations caused by the use of cluster munitions. 

 The next meeting will be held in Lima from 23 to 25 May. In according with the position of the Federal Council, Switzerland will continue to  participate actively in this process and in the work of other international fora seeking  solutions to the humanitarian challenges posed by the use of cluster munitions.


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