07 May 2009
Mexico is first Country from the Americas to ratify cluster bomb ban treaty
Photo: UN Treaty SectionOn May 6, Mexico has become the seventh country to formally ratify the international treaty banning cluster munitions five months after it opened for signature."We are thrilled that Mexico is the first country from the continent to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions," said Héctor Guerra, Mexico representative of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC). "It is now crucial that Mexico continue to play an active role by promoting further signatures and ratifications of this important Convention, especially in its current capacity as a member of the UN Security Council."On Wednesday 6 May 2009, Mexico's Ambassador Pablo Macedo, a high-ranking diplomat who played a central role in the negotiation of the Convention, deposited the ratification instrument at the United Nations in New York. Mexico started a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council on 1 January 2009, together with Austria, Japan, Turkey and Uganda.Mexico is the seventh country to ratify the treaty, which has been signed by a total of 96 countries. The Holy See, Ireland, Norway and Sierra Leone ratified the Convention during the Oslo Signing Conference on 3 December 2008, then Lao PDR and Austria ratified on 18 March and 2 April 2009 respectively. The Convention requires 30 ratifications to trigger entry into force six months later.One of the first supporters of a prohibition on cluster munitions, Mexico was part of a six-country "core group" that steered the diplomatic process to create the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2007-2008. On 16-17 April 2008, Mexico hosted a regional conference on cluster munitions attended by 23 states to rally support for a strong treaty on the eve of the treaty negotiations that were subsequently held in Dublin in May 2008.Mexico has never used, produced, or stockpiled cluster munitions.The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions and provides a strong framework to support affected communities and clear contaminated land.Read the official statement by the Mexican ministry of Foreign Affairs (Spanish)
