Red Cross Urges Ban On Cluster Bombs

Reuters:

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on Wednesday for urgent conclusion of a global pact to ban cluster weapons even if big powers like the United States, Russia and China were not ready to join. “We need a strong, legally-binding treaty urgently, in 2008, that would ban the use, development, stockpiling and transfer of inaccurate and unreliable cluster munitions,” said Peter Herby, who heads the ICRC’s Arms Unit.

Cluster munitions were used by Israel in its battle against the Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Campaigners say hundreds of Lebanese civilians were killed or maimed during and after the conflict because of what they call indiscriminate use of the weapon.

Meanwhile, back in September 2007, after Gordon Brown became Prime Minister:

The UK government has been accused of trying to reclassify two kinds of cluster bombs so they can still be used after a proposed global ban begins. Landmine Action said the government wanted to make use of its current stocks of the controversial bombs which open up to scatter smaller bombs. The government says its position was backed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). However the ICRC says this has never been discussed with them by Britain.