INHUMANE IMPACT OF CLUSTER MUNITIONS REQUIRES ‘URGENT ACTION’,

SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL ON EVE OF VIENNA MEETING

 

Following is the statement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the occasion of the Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions, 5-7 December:

I am watching closely the international community’s efforts to address the issue of cluster munitions.  I have on several occasions made known my views that the inhumane impact of these weapons requires urgent action.  I have urged Member States to prohibit cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians, and to take domestic measures to freeze the use and transfer of all cluster munitions until a new legal instrument is adopted.

I very much hope that all efforts to deal decisively with this issue will intensify over the year ahead.  Member States gathering in Vienna at the beginning of December will have an opportunity to give further impetus towards the success of these efforts, and I wish them well.  These are high humanitarian, human rights and developmental stakes.

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For information media • not an official record