Ban Advocates Blog

Raed, Lebanon

I am now happy to see how the negotiations took place, as at first I was afraid about those countries that wanted to weaken the Treaty. In the end we got a satisfying treaty, and this is only the beginning. There is still a lot of work to do.

After my wife watched me on television yesterday in Lebanon, she told me on the phone how proud she is that I have taken part in this historical step to ban cluster munitions. She supports me from Lebanon, and we both desire that no more children be injured or killed by cluster munitions in Lebanon or in any other affected country.

To be here and lobby for a strong treaty is something that I had to do for Ahmad, and I will continue to work for good implementation of the treaty for future generations.

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Press Release

Cluster bomb survivors applaud strong treaty language on victim assistance But Handicap International urges States to resist U.S. pressure

Dublin, 26 May 2008. Four days before the adoption of a new international treaty banning cluster munitions, cluster munition survivors from around the world welcome groundbreaking progress on victim assistance. The victim assistance provisions that will be adopted include a very broad definition of “cluster munition victims,” covering affected individuals as well as their families and communities.

According to the text, States have an obligation to provide medical care, physical rehabilitation, socio-economic and psychological support to cluster munition victims, as well as to collect data on the victims. In addition, the text that will be adopted includes a detailed list of concrete actions that States shall have to take in order to support the victims.

After being trained and getting experience during recent conferences, this week the Ban Advocates started their lobbying, with a particular focus on the countries which want to weaken the treaty.

The Ban Advocates have already met with no less than 30 different delegations, such as those of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Australia, and Canada.

At the time of writing, Soraj, Thi and Ahmed are in discussion with the United Kingdom’s delegation, as a meeting has been planned before the start of the conference. In half an hour, Branislav will meet with the Japanese delegation.

Pham Quy Thi, based on an interview in Dublin, 20 May 2008

My name is Pham Quy Thi. I am 52 years old and I live in Vietnam, in the Quang Tri Province, near the city of Hue. I am married and I have three children, a daughter, 28 years old, and two sons, 25 and 21 years old.

I am a farmer and I work my own rice fields. The accident occurred in 1977 while I was working in the fields, ploughing the soil with a weeding hoe. Unfortunately, on that day, the hoe hit a soil clod with a cluster munition hidden inside. I lost consciousness five minutes after the accident due to blood loss. I was transported to the hospital by the other farmers.

I was injured all over my body, especially my right arm. I had to suffer four surgeries. The first one was to amputate my right arm, while the other three were needed to take all the remaining pieces of metal that were still in my other arm, both of my legs, and in my abdomen out of my body. I was hospitalised for about 20 days.

Umarbek Pulodov, Ban Advocate, Dublin, 20 May 2008

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening. Let me introduce myself. My name is Umarbek Pulodov. I am a member of the Ban Advocates team. If you want to know more about us and see how we work in our own countries to promote the Oslo process, I encourage you to visit our blog: www.banadvocates.org

Recently, we organised a roundtable in Rasht Valley in Tajikistan, where I have been injured myself. This project was supported by the Diana Fund. Rasht Valley is a mountainous area in the North of Tajikistan where about 90,000 people live. That is were most of the cluster munitions were dropped.

Branislav Kapetanovic, Opening Ceremony, Dublin's Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, Dublin, 19 May 2008

Dear Minister, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear fellow Campaigners,

First of all, allow me to express how satisfied, I am to see so many States represented here in Ireland. The sheer number of you gathered here today proves that our common fight against this horrific weapon, whose victims are overwhelmingly civilians and very often children, has gained great significance and momentum.

Looking back, we should all be very proud of what we achieved. I remember well the somewhat difficult takeoff of this process of prohibiting cluster munitions in Oslo, but at the end of the week 46 countries committed themselves to the Oslo Declaration. The process grew stronger and stronger, and with every meeting from Lima to Vienna to Wellington, more countries joined. Today 109 countries are here to negotiate this treaty and I am confident that all States and all individuals in this conference room are here with a common goal: to solve the humanitarian problems that cluster munitions cause, to negotiate in earnest, and to have a successful result.

Berihu Mesele, Ban Advocate, Dublin, 18May

Dear Religious Leaders,

Good afternoon,

I am so happy to be here to say something and to share my life story with you briefly. While today I will talk about what has happened to me, I am not the only person who has faced a terrible life. There are also many other victims.

My name is Berihu Mesele. I come from Ethiopia and I live in the town of Mekele, located in the region of Tigray, in the northern part of the country.

Umarbek Pulodov, Ban Advocate, Dublin, 16 May

Today was our first training to learn how to effectively lobby delegates, with a particular focus on what we call “the red countries”, the ones who want to weaken the treaty.

We all participated in the training together today, and it was useful to practice by simulating negotiations with the delegates. This was a funny game for us to play among ourselves, each of us taking on the role of the delegates; there was simply nothing we could say when faced with a victim asking how it is that we can still use weapons that have such unacceptable impacts on human lives. At that moment, we all realised we have the right to ask this question of the delegates, as nobody with human feelings can even answer it!

Branislav Kapetanovic, Ban Advocate, April 2008

I visited Japan from 12-21 April 2008 at the invitation of the Japanese Campaign to Ban Landmines (JCBL). During MY stay, I met the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Minister of Defence, the Speakers of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, and delivered a speech to Parliament. My strong message led to the establishment, nearly a month later, of the Parliamentarians' League against Cluster Munitions.

I delivered lectures to several hundred students at Gakushuin Women's College, Chukyo University, and Tamagawa Gakuin High School. I also spoke at a press conference at the Japan Press Club, along with the Norwegian Ambassador and a Deputy Representative from the Irish Embassy.

Pictured: Dusica Vuckovic, Natasha Ilic, Sladjan Vuckovic, Jean-Baptiste Richardier and Etienne Pinte

On 17 April, just before the Global Day of Action against Cluster Munitions, Handicap International and French MP Etienne Pinte hosted a conference-debate ‘Cluster Munitions:The Stakes of an Interdiction and an Overview of the French Position’. Held a month prior to the Dublin Conference (19-30 May 2008), this debate was designed to question France’s ambiguous attitude toward the Oslo Process. The event, which took place at the French Parliament, gave French legislators an opportunity to debate the issue.