Unexploded cluster bombs threaten 400 million people across more than 30 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. Because cluster munitions, unlike “smart bombs,” cover such a large and uncontrolled area, up to 98% of their casualties are civilians rather than enemy combatants. In fact, one third of all recorded cluster bomb casualties are children, attracted by the bright colors and small shapes of the unexploded ordinance. Although over 70 other nations stockpile cluster bombs, the United States remains the largest stockpile of cluster munitions in the world and is a major user, exporter, and producer of the weapon. Since the U.S. dropped the last cluster bomb on Laos in 1973, the International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that 11,000 Laotian civilians, many of whom were not born when the bombs were dropped, have been killed or injured by an unexploded cluster dud.

Episcopal Church Policy:

General Convention Resolution D078: Ban Cluster Bombs

Executive Council Resolution
June 30, 2008

The following is a true copy of a Resolution adopted by the Executive Council at its meeting on June 13 – 15, 2008, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at which a quorum was present and voting.

Resolved, That the Executive Council, meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 13-15, condemns the use of cluster bombs and calls upon all governments, including our own governments, to negotiate and sign an international treaty prohibiting their production, transfer, stockpiling, and use.

EXPLANATION
Cluster bombs are containers filed with smaller bombs (bomblets or submunitions) that are dropped from the air or fired from land or sea. They were first used in World War II and are now stockpiled by at least 76 states and have been used in at least 31 countries and disputed territories. Experts point to 210 different types of cluster munitions including projectiles, bombs, rockets, missiles, and dispensers. They open in midair and the bomblets then spread over a large area, sometimes the size of two to three football fields, killing or injuring those on the ground, regardless of whether they are combatants or civilians. Those bomblets that fail to explode on impact remain on the ground, like unexploded landmines, and are a continuing lethal threat to all living in the area. Billions of submunitions are now stockpiled and ready to be used by more than 70 countries.

In Vietnam, it is estimated that up to 300 people die annually from cluster bombs and other objects left by the US and South Vietnamese military forces. In post-war Kosovo unexploded cluster bomblets caused more civilian deaths than landmines. When 18 people were killed and 136 wounded by U.S. made cluster bombs after the cease-fire following Israel's war with Lebanon in 2006, the State Department launched an inquiry into their use. That inquiry has not been made public. Locations affected by cluster bombs include: Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chad, Croatia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Kosovo, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Montenegro, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Vietnam, and Western Sahara.

Unlike land mines, there is no international legal instrument that covers cluster bombs and some countries, including the U.S., consider them legitimate weapons. The Government of Norway has convened international meetings to pursue a treaty banning cluster munitions that "cause unacceptable harm to civilians." On May 28, 2008, over 111 nations meeting in Dublin completed negotiations on a new international treaty that commits their governments to stop using cluster bombs and to destroy their existing stockpiles within eight years. The agreement also calls for strong standards to protect those injured by them and to make sure that contaminated areas are cleaned up as quickly as possible and that the weapons are immediately destroyed. The United States did not attend the meeting. Other countries not signing the ban or attending the meeting were China, India, Israel, Pakistan and Russia – all users or producers of cluster bombs.

Proponents of cluster bombs, such as the United States, argue that they are highly effective in combat against certain targets. The United States and Britain have used them in Iraq, but Britain broke with the U.S. and signed the treaty in Dublin. Questions of international humanitarian law come into play as cluster munitions users must weigh "proportionality" of military advantage versus civilian impact. That impact, however, is particularly high with cluster bombs because of the large area they contaminate and the danger subsequently of those that fail to explode. According to the Washington Post, "U.S. officials argue that technological advances will ensure that future cluster bombs reliably explode or quickly disable themselves, so they will not be a hazard to civilians later." Presently the U.S. cannot export cluster bombs because of a law requiring that they detonate at a rate of 99% - current versions do not do so.

According to the New York Times, more than 40 million land mines have been destroyed since that treaty went into force, trade in land mines has “virtually ended,” and only Russia and Myanmar were still using them as of 2007.

Within the Anglican Communion, the Provinces of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, the Episcopal Church of Brazil, the Anglican Church in Hong Kong, the Church of Melanesia, the Church of Mexico, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Church in Wales are all supporting the ban.

Other notable factors about cluster bombs

• Cluster bombs cause death and injury to civilians not only during war and conflict but for years following; one-third of all recorded cluster munitions casualties are children who are attracted to their small size, sometimes bright color, and curious shapes;
• 400 million people worldwide are estimated to be threatened by cluster bombs in their areas, and 60% of cluster bomb casualties occur during everyday activities;
• The existence of cluster bombs hampers post-conflict rebuilding and rehabilitation; their removal being costly and dangerous and uses funds that could be spent on other urgent humanitarian needs;
• While many nations have used cluster munitions, the U.S. has been the largest producer, stockpiler, user and exporter of them;
• The Episcopal Church at its 71st General Convention in 1994 called for “an international ban on the use, production, stockpiling, and sale, transfer, or export of antipersonnel mines,” munitions that similarly endanger civilians and contaminate land.

http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/

http://www.hrw.org/doc/?t=arms_clusterbombs

http://www.stopclusterbombs.org/

The Rev. Dr. Gregory S. Straub
Secretary of the Executive Council and
The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America