Children

Is this the end for the cluster bomb? For many the idea of placing a ban on a military weapon which is said to inflict a 98% civilian casualty rate is seen by many a no brainier. However when states unite on the issue feet seem to drag. It took weeks before the latest ban on the weapon, many of which have lain scattered across countries for decades, could finally reach an agreement. Last month in Dublin, on May 28th, representatives of 111 countries agreed to ban the use of cluster bombs. The use of cluster bombs have been highly criticized by human rights groups for maiming civilians, many of which are children, who pick up unexploded bombs scattered over a large area. The agreement was reached after U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown personally intervened, however the primary manufactures and users of this cluster bombs, including; the U.S., Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan did, were are parties to the treaty (The Washington Post).

In wake of the treaty many landmine survivors have welcomed the ban on cluster bombs, including Uganda.

“As people who have been on the forefront of this campaign, we see the approval of the treaty as a major breakthrough and we pray that countries stick to the treaty,” Margaret Arach, the chairperson of the Uganda Landmine Survivors Association, told IRIN on 3 June.

In Laos the cost to is all to clear when you look in the faces of children like 9 year old Joi was badly injured and who’s brother was killed three years ago when they detonated a cluster bomb when they went into the nearby forest to dig for fishing worms

“It still hurts, but mostly I’m still scared … scared to go into the forest, scared to play there. I’m scared of the bomblets” (IRIN).

From 1966 to 1975 the US forces targeted 15 of 17 Laos provinces in an aerial campagin to stem the tide of North Vietnamese troops, who were infiltrating South Vietnam through the country, according to the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) for the UXO/Mine Action Sector in Lao PDR. Based on records released by the US Air Force in 1999, an estimated 277 million bomblets were dropped on Laos over that time.

Right at the discussions for the treaty began landmines claim new victims in Casamanc, who is fighting for independence from Senegal, as one fatality and 20 injuries ensued as a bus drove over a landmine 70km north of the Casamance capital Ziguinchor on the 1st of May. Youssouf Coly, resident of a nearby village, agreed. ‘’I am convinced it is the rebels who have laid this mine and they are targeting the army,” he said (IRIN). The incident was the second in a week, along with other incidents of violence in violation of the December 2004 peace accord.

So will this treaty have the effect needed to see a true end to the cluster bomb? The sad reality is no, for even if all countries end their use of the weapon the harsh reality is still strewn across the ground. While demining efforts are in place in many countries, the cost of such is extensive on an economic, training and human toll. Thus leaving a mine free world as a distant dream.

Other Recent News on Cluster Bombs:
IRAQ: UN agencies call for international help to clear mines BAGHDAD, 6 April 2008 (IRIN) - Marking the third annual International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on 4 April, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called for a global effort to help Iraq in its mine clearance operations.

PAKISTAN: Landmines ruin lives, leave hundreds dead - PESHAWAR, 4 April 2008 (IRIN) - Palvasha Ahmed and her two younger sisters know all too well the risks posed by landmines. “Our cousin, Maryum Ahmed, 19, was injured by a landmine nearly a year ago in her village in South Waziristan. She lost her right foot and now goes around on a crutch. No one will marry her,” the 17-year old said in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

Sri Lanka has been engaged in a civil war for 25 years, causing displacement, death, and poverty, and while many have longed for peace it appears it now one step farther away, as on January 16, 2008 the Sri Lankan government ended a 2002 ceasefire with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Since calling off the ceasefire agreement dozens of innocent civilians, many children have become the targets of hostility. Currently their are some quarter of a million people displaced, a large majority of whom are children, left without their basic fundamental rights to education, healthcare and nutrition.

The escalating war takes toll on children, as more are killed and injured in attacks attributable to the Tamil Tigers, and fighting with government forces. Many of those injured or killed have been children on their way home from school. The result of the attacks have left massive disruption to education as parents flee their homes in search of safety to escape the bombing attacks. Since the beginning of 2008 at least 21 child deaths have been reported in assaults blamed on the Tamil Tigers and government forces in the northern and southern parts of the island.

“Both the Sri Lanka government and the LTTE are failing to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and are killing civilians on an increasingly regular basis. With no perpetrators brought to justice a climate of impunity is becoming entrenched: unless these patterns are reversed the future appears bleak” said Tim Parritt, deputy program director for Amnesty International Asia-Pacific.

Additionally the use of claymore mines, a landmine type of explosive mostly hidden underground; explodes when stepped on or driven over, has escalated in the past three years have been used to indiscriminately target civilians, including children. On 29 January,2008 20 people, including 11 children, were killed as the school bus, which travels each day on the same route, was hit by a mine explosion (Claymore mines used to lethal effect). According to recent reports from Amnesty International, government forces are preparing to launch major offensives against the Tigers in the northern parts of the island, which will further intensify the violence.

Sadly`the lives of children are not only being destroyed by attacks and the crossfire of forces, but also by their recruitment as child soldiers. Countless thousands of child soldiers have been forcibly recruited by Tamil Tiger rebels during the 25 year conflict, some 3,516 during the period of the 2002 ceasefire with the government (UNICEF/HWR). The agency states that this figure represents only a portion of the total number of children recruited. Just this week youths with LTTE links surrender to Security Forces, according to government defense sources at least 44 youths (ages where not stated) surrendered to the Security Forces on Tuesday, February 26th to seek protection from the Human Rights Commission. While the recruitment of children has decreased in recent years, any use of children in combat remains a deplorable act. “Between 1 November 2006 and 31 August 2007, some 262 children were recruited by the LTTE, including 32 who were re-recruited, according to reports received by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). This represents a significant decrease as compared to the previous 12-month period, when 756 children were reportedly recruited, including 97 who were re-recruited (UN).”

The war, which has has left an estimated 70,000 people dead since the beginning of the conflict in 1983, continues to rage and in its wake one finds the innocent and the lost…the children. It is therefore apparent that neither the ceasefire agreement or the actions to call it off have been effective in eliminating abuses of children, and that all parties must be held accountable for their actions in both domestic and international law. As a global community we can no longer watch as decades more children in Sri Lanka are left to know nothing more than violence.

The debate over the use of cluster bombs has hit the boil in recent months, however it looks that the issue will not be cooling down anytime soon. More than 120 nations tried to resolve the issues related to the use of cluster bombs, this past week. As the talks ended on Friday no agreement was made and no resolution was signed. Those taking part in the negotiations in Wellington, New Zealand, included 76 states which stockpile cluster munitions and a majority of the cluster bomb producers. The US is not taking part in the negotiations, nor are other producers of the weapons, such as Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Israel.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Janine Burns said in a statement Thursday, that the US “shares in the humanitarian concerns that have been raised about cluster munitions but is opposed to any ban on them because of their demonstrated military utility.”

The Children and Armed Conflict Report, which was issued on December 27, 2007, stated;

“Member States are urged to address immediately the grave humanitarian, human rights and development consequences of cluster munitions. To that end, Member States are encouraged to conclude a binding instrument that prohibits the use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians; requires the destruction of current stockpiles of those munitions; and provides for clearance, risk education and other risk-mitigation activities, victim support, assistance and cooperation, and compliance and transparency measures..”

Ban urged the Security Council to tackle the issue of cluster bombs, air-dropped or ground-launched munitions which launch a number of smaller submunitions (”bomblets”), which can cover large areas of land. The bomblets can be distributed either by aircraft, rocket, or by artillery projectiles.

Cluster bombs have been used by Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Israel, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Sudan, the UK and USA. Those countries which are most affected are Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq, Laos, Kosovo and Vietnam. The use of cluster bombs have been used since Vietnam, and continue into the Iraq war, killing thousands of civilians, many of which are children.

Cluster bombs linger in Vietnam after decades continuing to kill, illustrating the long term dangers of the use of cluster bombs. How many children are affected by cluster bombs? The exact number is unknown, however it is estimated that children are some 40% of the casualties caused by cluster bombs.  Many of the deaths caused by cluster bombs are children, much of the reason is due to their bright colors which children are drawn to. They are scattered across fields and city streets, just lying in wait for a child to pick them up. Cluster bombs not only kill, they violate children’s rights to play, as once youth filled fields now lie empty for fear of unexploded bombs.

“They thought it was a kind of ball,” said Hala’s aunt, weeping. “They only wanted to play.” (Children the main victims of cluster bombs)

The unwitting victims of war are the children, often caught in the crossfire and used a pawns, however the risks effects of war linger on for children. The war never ends the day the news cameras quit rolling and the troops pull out. The images of war remain forever etched in a child’s mind, shaping their future and molding the roles they will take to lead the next generation. However it is not just the mental scares that linger and haunt children, it is the continued threat of looming violence and fear of the unseen killers that line the streets and cover the field…the mines.

ISRAEL-LEBANON: Israel must reexamine use of cluster bombs, committee says - Israel’s use of cluster bombs during the July 2006 war in Lebanon violated international law with regards to protecting civilians, an Israeli committee of inquiry said a year and a half after the end of the conflict between Israel and the armed wing of the Lebanese political party Hezbollah. Since the formal end of the war on 8 September 2006 at least 30 people have been killed and 200 injured by unexploded bombs. “It’s disrespect for human life - it cannot be justified by military means,” said Amnon Vidan, from Amnesty International in Israel.

IRAQ: Government plans massive mine clearance operation - Iraq is planning a huge mine clearance operation in a bid to rid itself of some 25 million unexploded mines in some 4,000 minefields, Environment Minister Narmin Othman said on 3 February. “According to global statistics, Iraq has about 25 percent of the world’s unexploded landmines due to the wars it was involved in”.

SRI LANKA: Claymore mines used to lethal effect, claymore mines are an explosive device that uses a heavy metal sheet backing to project the blast in a certain direction. The presence of Claymores and IEDs is so widespread that troops with fork-like iron prongs now regularly comb Sri Lankan roads, looking for the tell-tale wires that are sometimes used to trigger the devices. On 29 January, 20 civilians, including 11 children, were killed when the bus they were traveling in was hit by a mine explosion near the sacred Madhu Shrine inside Tiger-held areas in the northwestern Mannar District, 240km from Colombo.

ISRAEL-PALESTINE: Relentless rocket attacks take psychological toll on children in Sderot , As it is estimated that some 75% of children between the ages of 4 and 18 years old in the southern Israeli town of Sderot suffer from post-traumatic stress, including sleeping disorders and severe anxiety, new findings published in January say.

SYRIA: UN research indicates high levels of trauma among Iraqi refugees in Syria are suffering from extreme levels of trauma, far higher than among refugees elsewhere from other recent conflicts, according to new figures released on 22 January by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). “It explains why we’re seeing so many children not attending school, why we’re seeing so many families that are going through problems, marriages that are not working out, increased domestic violence - all the worst consequences of trauma,” said Wilkes.

Please stay tuned for in depth postings on the growing situations in Kenya and Chad.

Afghanistan has fallen off the radar for many in the wake of the ongoing war in Iraq, however the struggle in Afghanistan is far from over. Rebuilding after a war, and years of repression, is never easy, especially for the children. The children of Afghanistan have been born into hardship, they dream of prosperity, and they continue to suffer needlessly as the remnants of war remain. The fight for adequate housing, healthcare and education are not the only struggle in post war Afghanistan, but children are also suffering from preventable diseases, landmines, and mother nature.

Too many young children dying of preventable diseases, as some 600 children under five die every day in Afghanistan due to pneumonia, poor nutrition, diarrhea and other preventable diseases, according to the State of the World’s Children 2008, which was released by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). While the country has made substancial improvements to the healthcare system, they have the 3rd highest infant mortality rate, and has the 2nd highest maternal mortality rate, in the world. While these figures are high, the child mortality rate in the country has dropped 25% since 2001, due to an increase to 80% of basic health services for citizens.

One of the most dangerous remnants of war that plague the children of Afghanistan are the landmines that are scattered across the country, hidden from plain site. Children are at high risk for landmine death or injury, and with injuries comes another battle in a country with an already weak healthcare infrastructure, as some 95% of landmine injuries result in disability. According to the UN Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan (UNMACA) landmines have killed 143 and wounded another 438 people in 2007 alone. The 2007 figures are down from 2006 when 124 where killed 124 and 697 wounded, however they remain too high and demining must be made a higher priority. The use of landmines by rebel factions is high due to their inexpensive nature as the report, Laying Landmines to Rest? Humanitarian Mine Action, shows that conventional anti-personnel landmines cost a mere $3 to $27 to produce, and according to the UK Mine Information and Training Centre (MITC), clearing these mines costs the international community $300-$1,000 per mine. Therefore

Sadly this winter has not been a friend to the the Afghans, as the cold-snap deaths top 300 (note, as of January 29th death toll rises over 500), as heavy snows have pounded much of the country over the last month. Most of the reported deaths have been children, and the death toll is expected to rise as the harsh weather continues. Most of those severely effected live in rural areas, with little to no access to healhcare, which is a major concern as children are more susceptible to cold related diseases such as pneumonia.

All of the factors heavily impact a child’s access to education, with attendence in schools remaining low, according to UNICEF attendence from 2000-2006 was estimated at 40% for females and 66% for males at the primary level and only 6% for females and 18% for males at the secondary level.

Therefore one can easily see that these are major concerns for the long term future of Afghan children and the sustainability of the country on the whole. Thus we must not leave the children of Afghanistan in the shadows of war, but increase our aid efforts and bring the continuing struggles of the innocent children to the forefront.