General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Cluster Bombs Are Not Good For Children, Hillary [View all]polly7
(20,582 posts)According to article 17 of the treaty, the convention entered into force "on the first day of the sixth month after the month in which the thirtieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession has been deposited".[3] Since the thirtieth ratification was deposited during February 2010, the convention entered into force on 1 August 2010; by that point, 38 nations had ratified the treaty.
As the convention entered into force, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke of "not only the world's collective revulsion at these abhorrent weapons, but also the power of collaboration among governments, civil society and the United Nations to change attitudes and policies on a threat faced by all humankind".[29] A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross said "These weapons are a relic of the Cold War. They are a legacy that has to be eliminated because they increasingly won't work".[30] Nobel peace prize winner Jody Williams called the convention "the most important disarmament and humanitarian convention in over a decade".[30]
Anti-cluster munitions campaigners praised the rapid progress made in the adoption of the convention, and expressed hope that even non-signatories such as the US, China and Russia would be discouraged from using the weapons by the entry into force of the convention.[31] As one of the countries that did not ratify the treaty, the United States said that cluster bombs are a legal form of weapon, and that they had a "clear military utility in combat." It also said that compared to other types of weapons, cluster bombs are less harmful to civilians.[29]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Cluster_Munitions
http://thewe.cc/thewei/_/images_4/us_terror_state__/girl_injured_by_us_bombing.jpe
You can shove your defense of these horrors straight up your ass.