News Review Special Edition

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International Developments, May 1 - July 10, 2003

Lethal War Debris In Iraq Forms Grim Backdrop To UN Discussions On Unexploded Ordnance

From June 16-27, the Group of Governmental Experts on Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) and Mines Other Than Anti-Personnel Mines met for its fifth session in Geneva. The Group, chaired by Ambassador Rakesh Sood of India, was established by the December 2002 Second Review Conference of States Parties to the 1983 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) - also known as the Inhumane Weapons Convention, designed, in the words of its full title, to establish "prohibitions or restrictions on the use of certain conventional weapons which may be deemed excessively injurious or to have indiscriminate effects".

During its fourth session, held in Geneva in March 2003, the Group had opened negotiations on a draft agreement on the ERW issue, on the basis of the mandate agreed by states parties - now numbering 90 - at the 2003 Review Conference. The mandate, in the words of a June 12 UN press release previewing the fifth session, "provides, in one part, for negotiation of post-conflict remedial measures, and, in another part, for further exploration of preventive measures." The Review Conference also appointed Ambassador Chris Sanders of the Netherlands to act as Coordinator on ERW.

As the UN preview noted, at "its upcoming session, the Group will strive to reach agreement" on a draft protocol. NGOs working to highlight the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of such 'remnants', or unexploded ordnance (UXO), urged all participants to strive for a breakthrough. In the words of Richard Lloyd, Director of the UK-based Landmine Action, on June 16: "Discussions have been going on now [within the CCW] for nearly two years about this, and we really think it's time for the talking to end and action to be taken. If the governments involved don't agree over the next couple of weeks, then that'll be a massive failure and another blow to the UN system - that's really inexcusable."

Agreement, however, proved elusive. A UN press release (June 27) gave few details, and no suggestion that a draft protocol would be ready for adoption by the Group at its sixth session (Geneva, November 17-24). The summary noted simply that the "Group held two plenary meetings and several working sessions in which nine working groups were discussed, mainly focussing on the consideration of a draft protocol for an international instrument on explosive remnants of war". In terms of the substance of the discussions, a brief reference drew attention to a traditional fault-line in the CCW, running precariously between permissible and illegitimate weapons design and use: "Throughout the deliberations, the Group continued to underscore the importance of striking a balance between the humanitarian problems caused by the irresponsible use of certain munitions, and the legitimate military requirements of states for enhancing national security."

As reported frequently in previous editions, a weapon of particular concern in the UXO context is the cluster bomb, an air-dropped munition designed to disperse large numbers (often in excess of 200) of lethal, and frequently maiming, 'bomblets' over a wide area, many of which remained unexploded and unmarked. Cluster bombs have been widely used by US and allied forces in recent conflicts, notably the NATO intervention in Kosovo, and the 'war on terrorism' campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

On June 26, timed to coincide with the fifth session, Landmine Action issued a landmark study entitled Explosive Remnants of War: a Global Survey - in the words of a Landmine Action press release, "the first report assessing the extent of the problems caused by the presence of unexploded and abandoned bombs, mortars, rockets and other munitions worldwide". The release summarises the report's main, harrowing findings: "[T]he lives and livelihoods of people in at least 92 countries around the world are threatened by unexploded cluster bombs or other explosive remnants of war. In 57 of these countries new casualties from the lethal leftovers of conflict were reported in the period January 2001 to the end of June 2002. ... Sub-Saharan Africa is worst affected with 24 countries and territories suffering due to explosive remnants of war while 23 countries and territories in Europe and Central Asia are endangered. In many of the places there is currently no armed conflict and often the conflict had occurred a decade or more before. ... The report finds that men aged between 18 and 40 are most at risk from ERW. They are more likely to be exposed to the explosives whilst farming or to come into deliberate contact - often in an attempt to move them in order to clear land or to safeguard their families and communities. Children are also particularly vulnerable as they pick up the explosives devices out of curiosity and to play with or because they have value as scrap metal. ... The presence of explosive remnants of war also affects the use of land and infrastructure, impeding reconstruction and development, and causing economic and social hardship. Most countries affected by unexploded and abandoned ordnance are in the developing world and are already amongst the world's poorest."

Referring to the dire situation in Iraq - where a reported 3,000,000+ cluster bombs may have been dropped during Operation Iraqi Freedom, compounding the already desperate UXO-legacy of decades of the Iran-Iraq and first Gulf wars - Richard Lloyd observed: "Iraq is the latest example where hundreds of people, mainly children, have already been seriously injured or killed since the end of the war as a result of unexploded cluster bombs and other explosive remnants of war. As this report shows, this lethal debris of conflict can continue to kill, maim and affect people's lives for decades to come. International law is urgently needed to ensure the immediate and effective clearance of explosive and abandoned ordnance once fighting ends. Otherwise thousands of innocent civilian lives will continue to be lost."

Dr. Patricia Lewis, Director of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) in Geneva, welcomed the Landmine Action study (June 26) as "a beginning," adding that a "lot more work and research needs to be done".

Notes: both US and UK forces used cluster bombs in the recent Iraq war. Such use - particularly in urban or other civilian areas - proved particularly controversial in Britain, where 75 Members of Parliament (MPs) of the ruling Labour Party have joined the call for a complete, global cluster-bomb ban. Interviewed by the BBC on May 29, Adam Ingram, UK Minister of State for Defence, appeared to concede the urban-use of the weapons, despite statements made during the war by Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon that civilian areas had been largely or totally spared. Ingram noted: "We have a massive programme of education [about the danger from unexploded cluster bombs] in Basra and those other areas where we have used such weapons." Ingram added that the British government had nothing to apologise for: "These are not illegal weapons. They are used in specific circumstances where there is a threat to our troops. Now, clearly there were circumstances where there were concentrations of military equipment and Iraqi troops in and around built-up areas. Now, how were we to tackle those people? Were we to have close combat with them with more casualties on our side?"

Speaking in Baghdad on June 17, Roger Hess of the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action told reporters that cleaning up the country's UXO would require a sustained effort: "[We will need] between 18 and 24 months to ensure civilians will no longer be in contact with UXOs. But it will take between six and seven years to destroy them all."

Reports: Cluster bombs 'used in Iraq cities', BBC News Online, May 29; Transcript - Ingram's BBC Radio 4 interview, BBC News Online, May 29; Group of Governmental Experts to consider a draft proposal for an instrument on Explosive Remnants of War, UN Press Release DC/2868, June 12; UN debates war zone clean-up law, BBC News Online, June 16; Deminers warn it will take years to clear bitter legacy of Iraq wars, Agence France Presse, June 17; 92 countries threatened by the lethal leftovers of war, Landmine Action Press Release, June 26, http://www.landmineaction.org; Report says 92 states strewn with lethal war debris, Reuters, June 26; Group of Experts on Conventional Weapons Pact concludes Fifth Session, UN Press Release DC/2869, June 27.

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