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The Cluster Bomb treaty was formally adopted by 111 nations across the globe to refrain from manufacturing and using cluster bombs. Those nations which signed the treaty on Friday, May 30, 2008 are expected to outlaw all current designs of cluster munitions and require destruction of stockpiles within the next eight years. The treaty also opens the possibility that European allies could order US bases located in their countries to remove cluster bombs from their stocks.
The United States, cluster bomb for which is a critical component for its air and artillery power has however refrained from signing the treaty. Along with the US, other leading cluster bomb makers including Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan also boycotted the talk and emphasized that they would not sign the treaty and publicly shrugged off its value.
Steve Goose, arms control director of New York based Human Rights Watch, who was involved in the talks, however remarked that they are certain that nations thinking of using cluster munitions won’t want to face the international condemnation that will rain down upon them, because the weapons have been stigmatized now. In the United States, State department spokesman Tom Casey however stated that the treaty would not change US policy and cluster munitions remain ‘absolutely critical and essential’ to the United States. The treaty has however been signed by many of the United States’ NATO partners.
