The CMC promoted the Convention on Cluster Munitions at the 124th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) from Friday 15 April – Wednesday 20 April in Panama City, Panama.
CMC staff and members met with parliamentarians from more than 70 countries that were participating in the Assembly including 24 Non-Signatory States, 30 Signatory States and 17 States Parties. CMC representatives handed out information and encouraged parliamentarians to join the CMC’s informal network – the Parliamentary Friends of the CMC – and advocate in support of the Convention.
CMC hosted two briefing on the Convention on Cluster Munitions chaired by Hon. Pete Hodgson, New Zealand MP and former Minister. Hodgson supported the CMC’s briefing at the last IPU meeting in Geneva in October 2010.
CMC delivered a statement in the general debate to over 800 parliamentarians and presented to the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Committee. The IHL Committee report that was adopted in the plenary on the final day of the Assembly included text that reiterated “the need for continued ratification and implementation [of the Convention] and urged that the Convention be given the widest possible international support”.
CMC statement to the general debate delivered by Kimberly Brown, 17 April 2011
CMC statement to the general debate delivered by Kimberly Brown, 17 April 2011 (Spanish)
Key messages for parliamentarians