Convention on Cluster Munitions signed in Oslo

More than 100 governments, with some notable exceptions, will sign an international convention today banning the production of cluster bombs whose unexploded canisters have killed and maimed thousands of innocent civilians and are dangerously scattered over more than 20 countries.

The convention is enthusiastically welcomed today by the Red Cross, and on the Guardian's website by David Miliband, the foreign secretary, and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, his German counterpart. The weapons had "rendered huge tracts of land unusable, cutting farmers off from their crops and visiting further suffering on families forced to risk their lives simply to pursue their livelihoods", said Matthias Schmale, international director of the British Red Cross.

The Guardian, 3rd December 2008

Civil society played a key role in bringing about this strong convention, as did the International Committee of the Red Cross/Red Crescent. Its president, Dr Jakob Kellenberger, captured the spirit of what we were trying to achieve when he quoted from the authors of the 1868 St Petersburg Declaration that our task was shaped by the need to "fix the technical limits at which the necessities of war ought to yield to the requirements of humanity." Civil society's involvement in the process helped to ensure that when redefining these limits humanitarian concerns were given due weight.

David Miliband in the Guardian, 2nd December 2008

Almost exactly ten years ago, the world celebrated a comprehensive ban on anti-personnel landmines, an immense achievement which has saved countless lives and spared the suffering of thousands around the globe.

Then, as now, the Red Cross and the British Government were at the forefront of the debate. The Red Cross first called for a Cluster Munitions treaty in 2000 following the conflict in Kosovo. More recently it was largely due to the United Kingdom that a conference in Dublin in May was able to reach agreement on the final wording of the treaty being signed today.

Matthias Schmale, British Red Cross press statement

We are committing ourselves to preventing further civilian deaths and injuries from cluster munitions, and to helping those whose lives have been blighted by them.... we are showing our commitment to international humanitarian law, and celebrating the tremendous positive energy which comes about through working together with civil society.

...

Our global community must continually keep challenging itself about the way it behaves. Political leaders must show they are prepared to listen and respond to the voices of victims, of civil society, and of ordinary people. The Cluster Munition Convention, the "Oslo Convention", shows both the importance and the power of advocacy to make the world a safer, better place.

It's only the beginning because we must continue working together internationally, and so must our military forces, to prevent conflicts and deal with their legacy. And when military force is required, it must be used responsibly.

David Miliband, short speech on signing the Convention.