The Convention on Cluster Munitions takes effect today, August 1, 2010.
It's an international treaty that bans the use of cluster bombs, a type of explosive that scatters bomblets over an area. Most major producers of cluster munitions and their components, including the US, Russia, China, India, Israel, Pakistan and Brazil, have not signed the Convention.
From Wikipedia - The impetus for the treaty, like that of the 1997 Ottawa Treaty to ban landmines, has been concern over the severe damage and risks to civilians from explosive weapons during and long after attacks. A varying proportion of submunitions dispersed by cluster bombs fail to explode on impact and can lie untouched for years until disturbed. The sometimes brightly colored munitions are not camouflaged, but have been compared to toys or Easter eggs, attracting interest from children at play.[9][10] Human rights activists claim that one in four casualties resulting from submunitions that fail to explode on impact are children who often pick up and play with the explosive canisters well after the conflict has ended.[11] The 2006 Lebanon War provided momentum for the campaign to ban cluster bombs. The United Nations estimated that up to 40% of Israeli cluster bomblets failed to explode on impact.
Proudly standing with Israel?
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