The Irish Catholic Bishops' Commission for Justice and Social Affairs, and Trócaire, the overseas development agency of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, have called for a total ban on cluster bombs.

"Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities or extensive areas, along with their population, is a crime against God," the two organisations said in a joint statement to coincide with the opening of an international conference in Dublin earlier in the month on the use of cluster munitions.

The bishops and the aid agency quoted Catholic social teaching on proportionality, the obligation to protect civilians, and key moral and humanitarian issues as they encouraged delegates to recommend a total ban on the use of cluster bombs.

These weapons contain multiple small sub-munitions that, when released, spread over an area of hundreds of square metres. The use of such weapons in populated areas virtually guarantees civilian casualties.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon gave a video address at the beginning of the two-week-long Dublin conference that is taking place in the city's Croke Park stadium, and to which representatives of over 100 countries have come.

Ireland was in 1967 the first nation to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Ireland is also one of a core group of countries, including the Holy See, that has played a leading role in bringing the current cluster bomb negotiations to a stage where an outright ban is a possibility.

The Irish Government has made a specific commitment to introduce domestic legislation to ban cluster bombs.

The joint Irish bishops and Trócaire statement also expresses concern that some countries will seek to limit any treaty's provisions, and calls on the Irish delegation at the conference to resist any such attempts.

"The Irish delegation must ensure that the interests of those nations that employ and produce cluster munitions are not allowed to eclipse the moral obligation to protect innocent civilians from harm," the statement said. Certain countries that use cluster bombs, such as the United States of America, China, Russia and Israel, are not at the conference.


Source: www.eni.ch