Saturday, May 31, 2008

Update - Cluster Munitions Convention Concludes

Some good news for the cause of international law in warfare: the Dublin conference concluded with over 70 countries agreeing to the final wording of the convention. Some exceptions wound up being made, but the worst weapons were firmly banned, without a transition period. Surprisingly, Gordon Brown also jumped on board and agreed to eliminate his country's stockpiles, apparently including the M73 helicopter munition, which Brown had initially wanted exempted.

The US, the world's biggest stockpiler, producer, and user of the weapons naturally didn't show up, and neither did the countries which are most likely to use them in the future - although Britain's participation is significant in that they are still contending with US stockpiles at bases on Airstrip One (another Orwell reference for all you 1984 fans). Pakistan's absence as usual mirrored India's, which is doubly shameful, since the Pakistani army's only combat operations since 2000 have been against Pakistanis.

I myself sent off some of the form letters to various dignitaries that the campaign suggested. When you do that sort of thing, you don't typically expect a response. My own MP might be trusted to get back to me, but one expects to be ignored by the Polish foreign office. Surprisingly, the press secretary did reply (emphasis mine):

In response to your concerns expressed in your e-mail letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland with regard to Polish position on Cluster Munitions, please be advised that Poland is fully committed to seek the appropriate solutions to limit the use of this kind of weaponry.
. . .

Poland fully shares the humanitarian objectives of the Oslo Process along with its ambitious timeframe. However, we believe that streamlining the process within CCW will eventually bring a comprehensive solution, which is necessary to address divergent concerns related to this issue. Gathering at one table all major producers, suppliers and possessors of this weapon offers the best forum to exchange views on the issues related to humanitarian, technical and military aspects of cluster munitions.

Obviously, a form letter as well, and full of weasel words designed to make it clear that Poland is unwilling to risk making Uncle Sam mad. Nevertheless, the fact that someone in that office was ordered to sit down and write it up, and then send it to whoever contacts them tells you that the issue is at least on their agenda, even if their action on it consists only of apologetics for their position.

Like I said in my previous post on the topic, the effectiveness of international law in these matters is never ideal. War on the ground will never be what we want it to be on paper, but it needs limits. This was recognized by the first generation of Muslims, and probably by many ancient peoples before them. I don't think it will be possible for us as a species to stop killing eachother in the foreseeable future, but if we're going to invest so much in doing it, at least a significant minority of us need to insist that there be rules.

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