BANNING CLUSTER MUNITIONS Government Policy and Practice Cover Design by Rafael Jiménez Printed and bound in Canada Cert no. Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice documents the creation of an international treaty banning cluster munitions. It looks at governments’ engagement in the Oslo Process, a diplomatic initiative started by Norway in February 2007 to create a legally-binding instrument outlawing cluster munitions and establishing a framework for clearing contaminated areas and meeting the needs of cluster munition victims. The report also considers government practice with respect to the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions. Banning Cluster Munitions contains entries on 150 countries, including signatories to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, stockpiler countries, and affected states. This report was prepared by Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action on behalf of Landmine Monitor, the system providing civil society monitoring on the humanitarian and developmental consequences of landmines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war. Representatives from Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action co-chair the Cluster Munition Coalition, the civil society campaign that helped to secure international support for the Convention on Cluster Munitions. BANNING CLUSTER MUNITIONS Government Policy and Practice BANNING CLUSTER MUNITIONS Government Policy and Practice Front cover photo © Simon Conway/Landmine Action, September 2006 This M77 submunition landed on the roof of Majdal Selem School in South Lebanon in 2006 and failed to detonate. Israel launched millions of submunitions into Lebanon during its 2006 conflict with Hezbollah, many of which landed in populated areas and failed to explode on impact. The United States supplied M77 submunitions to Israel. This photo is printed to scale to show the actual size of the submunition. Back cover photo © Cluster Munition Coalition, 4 December 2008 Afghan campaigner and cluster munition survivor Soraj Ghulam Habib and Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre celebrate the signing of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo, Norway. The strong partnership between governments and civil society was integral to the treaty negotiation process.