Irish bishop welcomes agreement to ban cluster bombs

Published: 2008-05-30

DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) -- The vote by a group of diplomats from more than 100 countries to ban cluster bombs was praised by an Irish bishop as a "huge advance" that will "save civilian lives." "We in Pax Christi Ireland and, indeed, Pax Christi International are delighted with what has been achieved," said Auxiliary Bishop Raymond W. Field of Dublin, president of Pax Christi Ireland. The international agreement to ban cluster bombs was reached May 30 by diplomats from 111 countries attending a 12-day conference in Dublin. Cluster bombs scatter hundreds of submunitions or bomblets over a wide area. Most casualties of these weapons are civilian, and a high percentage of those killed or maimed are children. The treaty banning cluster bombs specifies that participating countries cannot use them but it also requires participants to destroy existing stockpiles within eight years and fund programs to clear bombs from old battlefields.

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