Handicap International is alerting the
international community and public opinion to the possible use of landmines
and cluster bombs in the conflict currently opposing the Israeli army and
the Hezbollah in Lebanon. If those weapons are actually being used, the
consequences for civilians will be disastrous. In recent conflicts, 75%
of victims of unexploded remnants of war, including cluster bombs, have
been civilians, of which 19% were children.
Following the current conflict in Lebanon,
Handicap International is basing its concerns on the following facts:
- According to several witness accounts, cluster bombs may have been used by the Israeli forces over the last few days in south Lebanon, particularly in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
- The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) reports that the Israeli government has announced that it is reserving the right to use cluster bombs in its current intervention in Lebanon.
- Several sources have reported the use of landmines by the Hezbollah in some areas of southern Lebanon over the last few years.
- Southern Lebanon has already been affected by cluster bombs and landmines in the past, notably between 1978 and 1982. The Lebanese population is still suffering from this situation. Despite the mine clearance operations conducted, civilians are still wounded on a regular basis during accidents involving these weapons.
It is also necessary to remember that cluster bombs have been massively used in several recent conflicts (e.g.: Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq). Thirteen States have used this type of weapon since the 1950s, including Israel. Landmines have been banned at international level since the 1997 Ottawa Treaty. However Israel (whose last official use of landmines was during its retreat from south Lebanon in May 2000) and Lebanon have not yet signed the Treaty.
Notes for editors Cluster bombs are made up of a single canister containing up to several hundred bomblets. Spreading over large areas and thus hitting random targets, cluster bombs violate the rules of international human rights, which require that belligerents make a distinction between military and civilian areas. Unexploded cluster bombs (between 5 to 30% of them do not explode on first impact) present a permanent threat to civilians during and after conflicts. In February 2006, an important breakthrough was made in the international Campaign to Ban Cluster Bombs with Belgium becoming the first country to officially ban these weapons.
The CMC is an international consortium of 150 NGOs, including Handicap International, campaigning against cluster bombs. Handicap International is an international charity working in 60 countries worldwide in the fields of disability, landmines and cluster munitions. The organisation is co -- founder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which was awarded the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.
Press contact Beatrice Cami (beatrice.cami@hi -- uk.org) 0870 774 3737, www.handicap -- international.org.uk