Nothing will assist Australia's security more than increasing our action to reduce armed conflict – the main cause of refugee movements to Australia.

This Sunday, 1 August 2010, the Convention on Cluster Munitions enters into force. Australia has yet to ratify it. Act for Peace is asking both parties to announce a date by which they will ratify the Cluster Munitions Convention and bring an end to the indiscriminate suffering caused by these inhumane devices of war.

Mr. Alistair Gee, Executive Director of Act for Peace said, “This should be a priority for both parties. Cluster munitions pose the gravest danger to civilians since antipersonnel mines, which were banned in 1997. Act for Peace welcomed the announcement last year of Australia's Mine Action Strategy for the Aid Program. It is now time to make commitments beyond the aid program.”

Mr. Gee said, “Until Australia completes the process of ratification, we will fall behind a growing number of countries acting to end the indiscriminate suffering caused by these brutal weapons.  We are now asking all parties to make some concrete commitments to help reduce armed violence globally, including:

1. Ratifying the Convention on Cluster Munitions

2. Taking a lead in developing the global Arms Trade Treaty

3. Supporting the immediate start of international negotiations towards a Nuclear Weapons Convention

Act for Peace has supported communities in Lebanon, Cambodia and Sudan who have had their lives and livelihoods destroyed by Cluster Munitions. The treaty sets a framework for a world free from these weapons and an environment where development can progress in areas of past conflict.

To arrange an interview with Mr. Alistair Gee, please contact: Edwyn Shiell 0458 303 515

Details about the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Campaigners are mobilising around the world to mark the entry into force on 1 August 2010 of the Convention – the most significant disarmament and humanitarian treaty in more than a decade.

A total of 107 governments including Australia have signed the Convention, of which 37 have ratified. Regrettably, the Australian government still has not ratified the treaty.

The Convention bans cluster munitions and requires destruction of stockpiles within eight years, clearance of cluster munition-contaminated areas within 10 years and assistance to affected communities and cluster munition survivors.

In April 2010, the Australian Government announced $10 million for mine action in Laos, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon as part of its five year, $100 million Mine Action Strategy for the Aid Program.

The First Meeting of State Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions will be held in Vientiane, Lao PDR from 8-12 November 2010. This is expected to be a defining moment in the life of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.