UN rejects US proposal on cluster munitions
UN member states have rejected a US-backed plan to introduce new regulations on cluster bombs. The UN says the proposal contains many contradictory provisions as it supports the elimination of all cluster munitions made before 1980 but allows the use of those produced after 1980. Human rights groups argued that the new protocol would dilute the existing international convention banning such bombs. The US-based Cluster Munition Coalition warns that once the protocol is approved, it will encourage countries which haven’t signed the Oslo Convention to use this weapon even more. The Oslo Convention prohibits the production, transfer and use of cluster munitions.