AdvocatesIn mid-November 2009, the ANZCMC Coordinator Mary Wareham represented New Zealand non-governmental organisations at a regional meeting in Bali, Indonesia. This is a brief report on the major highlights of the two-day conference.

During the opening plenary, Mr. Thi Pham Quy of Vietnam (pictured on far right) made a powerful call for his government and others to join the Convention. Mr. Thi, who attended the Dublin negotiations of the Convention as well as the Oslo signing conference, lost his arm to a cluster munition thirty years ago when he was working in a rice field near his home in Quang Tri province.  Vietnam and neighbours Lao PDR and Cambodia remain severely affected by unexploded cluster munitions dropped by the United States some forty years ago.

Eighteen governments from Asia-Pacific participated in the Regional Conference on the Promotion and Universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions held 16-17 November 2009. Nine were members of the Convention (including host Indonesia), while nine non-signatories participated: Bangladesh, Cambodia,  Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma),  Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Thailand, and Vietnam. Just 12 of the 40 states in Asia-Pacific have joined Convention on Cluster Munitions.

This was Myanmar’s first participation in the meeting of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the delegate took the opportunity to provide a surprising statement expressing strong support for the cluster munition ban. He noted, “we do not use cluster munitions; develop, produce otherwise acquire, retain or transfer to anyone, directly or indirectly, nor assist, encourage or induce anyone to engage in any activity prohibited under this Convention.”

Members of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) made interventions in every session of the conference, the first regional meeting held since a meeting in Lao PDR last September 2008. In addition to calling for universation,  CMC representatives also underscored the need for swift implementation of the Convention’s obligations including stockpile destruction, transparency reporting, domestic legislation, clearance, and victim assistance.

New Zealand spoke in a session on key obligations of the Convention together with representatives from Austria and Norway.  In discussing the government’s proposal national legislation to implement the Convention, the representative unfortunately emphasized more contentious aspects of the draft law, such as retention of cluster munitions for training and relations with states that have not joined. On the positive side, the representative reaffirmed that the government is working to enact the law and ratify the Convention before the end of the year, which could result in New Zealand being among the first 30 ratifications to trigger entry into force. Currently, a total of 103 governments have signed the Convention, of which 24 have ratified. The ANZCMC has made submission on the Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill that is currently before the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.

The Conference ended on an optimistic note, reaffirming the commitments to work toward a successful First Meeting of States Parties in heavily contaminated Lao PDR in late 2010.  Many thank you to Lars Stenger and Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Indonesia for his work on the Conference (including screening Disarm in Jakarta the week before the meeting).

This photo by Mary Wareham shows Bali participants from Handicap International’s “Ban Advocates“  project waving goodbye to cluster bombs.  The delegation, which included survivors from Afghanistan, Lao PDR, and Vietnam, bolstered the CMC presence to the Bali Conference in lobbying government delegates, engaging local media, and brainstorming on possible campaign to celebrate the Convention’s forthcoming entry into force. Testimonies and reports from the Ban Advocates can be found on their blog and Facebook group.

For more information, see the conference website and also:

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