BAN KI-MOON: STATES MUST STEP UP EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE SCOURGE OF CLUSTER MUNITIONS

BAN KI-MOON: STATES MUST STEP UP EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE SCOURGE OF CLUSTER MUNITIONS
New York, Dec 4 2007 4:00PM
Ahead of an international meeting on cluster munitions, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today reiterated his appeal to Member States to eradicate the arms which cause "unacceptable harm to civilians."

In a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11315.doc.htm">statement, Mr. Ban stressed that "the inhumane impact of these weapons requires urgent action," and called for nations to make efforts domestically to halt the use and transfer of cluster munitions until the adoption of a new global treaty regarding the weapons.

The Secretary-General voiced hope that there will be bolstered global measures to tackle the problem in the coming year.

He said that the group of nations which will hold a three-day meeting in Vienna – the third in a series of global conferences – this week on the issue of cluster munitions "will have an opportunity to give further impetus towards the success of these efforts."

Stressing the urgency of the issue, Mr. Ban said that there are "high humanitarian, human rights and developmental stakes" involved.
2007-12-04 00:00:00.000

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