Cluster-bomb-riddled areas in Southern Lebanon 'virtually occupied'

When the United Nations talks of "Israeli-occupied territories," the conventional definition is that these disputed lands include the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights - all of them conquered during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. But to most Lebanese, there are border villages inside Southern Lebanon that are virtually "no-man's land" because of the myriad of cluster bombs spread by Israel's warplanes, artillery and rockets during its 34-day conflict with Lebanon in 2006. For all intents and purposes, says one Arab diplomat, stretching the United Nations definition further, these heavily mined border villages are also "Israeli-occupied territories." "The devastating military legacy left behind by Israel lives on in these Lebanese villages, parts of which remain uninhabitable because of cluster munitions and unexploded ordnance," he adds. But he is not sure how a new treaty banning cluster bombs, which was signed by 94 nations in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, on Thursday, will help resolve the problem of "occupied territories" inside Lebanon. The United Nations says that "millions" of cluster munitions - in which hundreds of small 'bomblets' are packed together - were dropped on more than 48 million square meters of Lebanese territory in July and August 2006, killing and wounding over 300 civilians. And hundreds of thousands of munitions failed to explode on impact and remained on the ground, on rooftops, and in agricultural areas, continuing to kill - mostly civilians. In Laos, clearance operations have been going on for over 30 years after a conflict there left 75 million unexploded cluster bomblets strewn across the country, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP). UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that exactly 11 years ago, governments, international organizations, parliamentarians and civil society gathered for the historic signing of the land-mine convention which banned those anti-personnel weapons. "That treaty added a new chapter to international humanitarian law, disarmament and nonproliferation, and is a prime example of how a shared sense of conviction and determination can translate into concrete measures that save lives and livelihoods," he said in a statement read at the signing ceremony by Sergio Duarte, the UN high representative for disarmament affairs. He said the new Convention on Cluster Munitions will not only prohibit the future use and proliferation of cluster weapons but also promote their very obsolescence. "Moreover, the convention's far-reaching provisions on victim assistance and clearance will improve the lives of survivors, families and communities that have been affected by cluster munitions," he added. The signing of the Convention on Cluster Munitions is also a historic victory for the progressive governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that made it happen, says William D. Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Initiative at the Washington-based New America Foundation. "While there is still much work to do - like getting major players like the United States, Russia and China on board - the treaty sets a norm against selling or using these weapons that will be hard to roll back," he said. But it is a hopeful sign, Hartung told IPS, "that President-elect Barack Obama has agreed to reconsider current US policy with an eye toward possibly joining the cluster-bomb ban." "And even short of signing on, there is much that the United States can do, from stopping exports, to curbing their use, to spending more to help clean up unexploded 'bomblets' that could approach de facto support for the ban," he said. The most important thing now is for activists and political leaders to view this as an historic first step that will be followed by vigorous efforts to get the major powers on board, Hartung added. The Convention on Cluster Munitions was adopted by 107 countries at a conference in Dublin, Ireland, in May this year, and comes into force six months after 30 states ratify it. The legally binding treaty prohibits the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions. According to the United Nations, at least 15 countries, and a number of non-state actors, have used cluster munitions in at least 32 countries or territories. A total of 34 countries have produced more than 200 different types of cluster munitions, while billions of these are currently believed to be stockpiled in 75 countries. Jayantha Dhanapala, a former UN undersecretary seneral for disarmament affairs, told IPS that the signing of the convention by so many states eliminates an entire category of weapons and "is another major triumph for disarmament achieved through a unique coalition of civil society groups and nation states." "It is an indictment of the established framework for the negotiation of international disarmament treaties and on the major powers whose obstructionism has failed to stop the powerful groundswell of international public opinion," Dhanapala added. "We have more mountains to climb especially with regard to the elimination of nuclear weapons and this victory, which includes victim assistance as an important element, should be an encouragement," he said.