EDITORIAL: Treaty on cluster bombs

Cluster bombs are capable of inflicting incredible damage because they release many small bomblets over a wide area. Unexploded bomblets can kill or maim civilians long after a conflict is over. As a result, they are often referred to as "second landmines."

An international treaty to ban cluster bombs, called the Convention on Cluster Munitions, will come into force in August after being ratified by 30 nations. We hope this leads to renewed diplomatic efforts to eliminate this inhumane weapon.

The convention prohibits the use, production and transfer of cluster munitions and sets strict deadlines for the destruction of stockpiles and clearance of unexploded submunitions. It also requires signatories to support survivors, their families and communities affected by the use of such ordnance.

We hope the treaty's provisions will be implemented swiftly. That would prevent further "postwar casualties."

So far, 104 countries have signed the convention. Japan, France and Germany are among countries that have ratified it. But some countries with massive stockpiles of cluster bombs, such as the United States, Russia, China and Israel, have not signed the treaty.

The challenge now is how to persuade these countries to come on board. Another grim reality is that many Asian countries have not signed the treaty, either. More must be done to raise the number of signatory countries in Asia.

The treaty should prove fairly effective even if the United States and other countries don't join immediately.

Increasing the number of signatory nations will reinforce the international perception that the use of cluster bombs is inhumane, thereby making countries that have stockpiles of these weapons reluctant to actually use them.

The United States has also not signed the Ottawa Treaty, which bans antipersonnel landmines and came into force in 1999. But U.S. forces did not use antipersonnel landmines in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Clearly, international criticism about the use of antipersonnel mines was a factor behind the U.S. decision not to use such weapons in these conflicts.

This offers a valuable lesson about the importance of increasing the number of signatories to the convention against cluster bombs and spreading international awareness that using these weapons is a disgrace to humanity.

As with the Ottawa Treaty, the convention against cluster bombs came into being as a result of cooperation between a group of mid-ranked countries and a network of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working for the cause. In Japan, the Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines (JCBL) has been actively involved in international efforts to ban cluster munitions.

The cooperation of NGOs is essential to expanding the treaty membership and providing support for survivors. The Japanese government should figure out ways to work more closely with activist groups. One way to do so would be to include representatives of NGOs in the Japanese delegation to the first meeting of parties to the convention, which will be held in Laos in November.

An international network of pro-ban NGOs is promoting a campaign for restricting loans to and investments in companies involved in the production of cluster munitions. Belgium, Ireland and some other countries have already enacted such legislation. Britain and New Zealand are among countries considering restrictions on businesses contributing to the production of these weapons.

Restricting loans and investments that support the manufacturing of cluster bombs will surely help put pressure on nonsigners to comply with the ban. In Japan, too, the government, the financial community and NGOs should also hold serious talks on similar measures.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 19