Governments are obligated under international humanitarian law to protect civilians during conflict. But history has shown that these general rules are not enough to protect civilians from certain weapons that cannot discriminate between civilians and military targets or that cause excessive humanitarian harm. This is why countries signed a treaty banning antipersonnel landmines in 1997 and this is why countries must do the same for cluster bombs.
Following the failure of government talks within the traditional forum for discussing weapons issues, Norway launched an initiative in February 2007, known as the Oslo Process. Spearheaded by Norway and other supportive governments, it led to the negotiation and formal adoption of an international treaty prohibiting cluster munitions, the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), at the Dublin Diplomatic Conference in May 2008.
THE CONVENTION ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS
The Convention on Cluster Munitions was signed by 94 countries at the Oslo Signing Conference in December 2008, and entered into force on 1 August 2010, after 30 states ratified it by 16 February 2010. The CMC urges as many states as possible to join the Convention, implement its lifesaving provisions and promote its norms.
You can help make sure that your government gets on board the most significant humanitarian and disarmament treaty of the decade. The time to act is now.
To find out which countries have signed, ratified and acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, check out our Treaty Status page.
TIMELINE OF INTERNATIONAL OSLO PROCESS MILESTONES
- February 2007 – Launch of the Oslo Process in Oslo, Norway
- May 2007 – Lima Conference on Cluster Munitions, Peru
- December 2007 – Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions, Austria
- February 2008 – Wellington Conference on Cluster Munitions, New Zealand
- May 2008 – Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, Ireland
- December 2008 – Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference, Norway
- August 2010 - Convention on Cluster Munitions enters into force
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