In a speech to the House of Representatives, Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen urged the Netherlands to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions as soon as possible. The Convention bans the production, possession and use of cluster munitions.

If the House ratifies the Convention, the document will be forwarded to the Senate for review. In anticipation of the Convention’s entry into force, the Netherlands has decided to halt the use of cluster munitions and destroy its existing stockpiles.

‘Cluster munitions are unreliable and imprecise, and their use poses a grave danger to the civilian population,’ the minister argued. ‘Years after a conflict has ended, people – especially children – can fall victim to unexploded submunition from cluster bombs.’

So far, 106 countries have signed the Convention, and 36 have ratified it, meaning that it will enter into force on 1 August. A number of large countries, including the United States, Russia, China, Brazil and India are not party to the Convention.

The Netherlands had actively campaigned for the treaty’s creation, which was signed by Mr Verhagen on 3 December 2008. The Convention also contains provision on the clearance of unexploded cluster munitions and victim assistance. The Netherlands is one of the biggest donors to these efforts.



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