The New Zealand government has approved signature of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in this December.  In a 8 October 2008 statement to the United Nations First Committee debate Ambassador Don MacKay said New Zealand will sign the treaty on 3 December in Oslo, Norway.  He described the successful effort to ban cluster bombs as “the standout achievement for disarmament in 2008″ and said it “demonstrates the value of committed partnership between disarmament, humanitarian, and civil society experts, in order to achieve substantive results for civilians on the ground.”

With a General Election scheduled for 8 November 2008, New Zealand may not have a government in place in time to sign the Convention on 3 December 2008. Our Geneva-based disarmament MacKay or another official may have to sign in December on New Zealand’s behalf.

All political parties have indicated their strong support for New Zealand’s swift ratification of Convention on Cluster Munitions. in responses to a pre-delection 12-question survey by the National Consultative Committee on Disarmament (NCCD) including National. On 17 October 2008, candidates from Labour, the Greens and United Future reiterated their support for the cluster bomb ban.

Read New Zealand’s statement to the UNGA63 First Committee

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