India, Pakistan Oppose Cluster Bomb Ban

As diplomats from more than 100 nations agreed on a treaty Wednesday to ban cluster bombs, India and Pakistan were conspicuously missing along with United States, Israel, Russia and China. The absence of these six countries, the biggest producers and/or users of cluster bombs today, raises doubts about the effectiveness of the treaty in eliminating large numbers of civilian casualties from the use of such munitions.

This is the second time in recent history that Pakistan has found itself opposing treaties banning munitions blamed for killing and maiming of innocent civilians caught in the battles. In 2002, India and Pakistan both opposed the land mines ban treaty signed in Ottawa in 1999. Both countries are major producers and users of land mines along with US, Israel, Russia and China.

Cluster bombs, launched by ground artillery or dropped from aircraft, spread dozens or hundreds of "bomblets" across an area as big as two football fields to attack concentrations of troops and vehicles. They have been used with devastating impact on battlefields around the globe, most recently in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon. But critics contend the explosives often fail to detonate and later cause tremendous loss of civilian lives, from farmers who step on colorful bomblets in their fields to children who mistake them for toys.

Prior to the Ottawa Treaty banning land mines, 131 states possessed stockpiles, estimated at over 260 million antipersonnel mines. The Landmine Monitor now estimates that 54 countries have stockpiles, totaling 180 million antipersonnel mines. Based on this history, there is an expectation that the cluster bomb ban would similarly lead to a reduction in stockpiles and use of such munitions.

Given the terrible human misery caused by landmines and cluster bombs, it is disappointing to see that Pakistan has chosen not to seek high moral ground on this issue by failing to participate in either of these highly laudable treaties.

Sources: Associated Press
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