A cluster bomb, or cluster munition, consists of a container filled with lots of smaller bombs (submunitions). These containers might be dropped from aircraft or fired from the ground. Breaking open in midair, the container releases the submunitions - saturating an area the size of several football fields. Anybody within that area, be they military or civilian, is likely to be torn apart. Cluster munitions kill and injure civilians at the time of use because they indiscriminately scatter explosives over a wide area and many of the bomblets or submunitions fail to explode on impact. They remain on the ground and function as landmines that kill and injure civilians long after conflict. Children are more at risk than adults of being maimed or killed by these bomblets as they are easily attracted by their toy-like size and shape.

 

The humanitarian impact of the use of clustermunition is devastating and not conform the principles of international humanitairan law. The principles of proportionality and the discrimination between civilian and military targets are endangered because of the specific and indiscriminative features of clustermunition.

 

IKV Pax Christi is calling for strong legal instruments on national and international level to protect civilians during and after conflict against the impact of clustermunition. We must and cán prevent a situation in which we wait until the contamination with submunitions has spread epidemically before we take action, like was the case with anti-personnel’s mines.

 

New Report: 'The devil is in the detail'