There’s now just over 5 days until entry into force. This week we are calling on THAILAND to sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Please take part in this action and help put the spotlight on Morocco!
TAKE ACTION!
- Send a letter to the Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs asking Thailand to sign the Convention. You could also send a copy of the letter to the Thai embassy in your country (if there is one).
Downloadable letters urging the government of Morocco sign the Convention are available from the CMC website. Countdown to entry into force - Week 14: Thailand
As a leader on the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, Thailand participated in the “Oslo Process” to negotiate the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions and has expressed concern about the humanitarian consequences of cluster bombs. Despite this support, Thailand has not yet signed the Convention.
“South-East Asia is the most heavily affected region from cluster munitions and has spent decades dealing with the effects of landmines and cluster bombs. Thailand has everything to gain and nothing to lose by joining the cluster bomb ban. Thailand’s decision to join would show solidarity with Lao PDR which is providing much needed global leadership on the issue and would positively influence other countries in the region to join the ban,” said Chompoo- Sermsiri Ingavanija of Jesuit Refugee Service Asia-Pacific.
Thailand stockpiles cluster munitions and although it announced at the Oslo signing conference (where it participated as an observer) that it will not use cluster munitions, Thailand has cited challenges related to the destruction of its stockpiles as the main obstacle to signing. If it joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Thailand would be eligible for international cooperation and assistance to destroy its stockpiles. Thailand is not believed to have used, produced or transferred cluster munitions.
Thailand reportedly accumulated US-made cluster munitions, including 500 Rockeye and 200 CBU-71 cluster munitions, at some point between 1970 and 1995. The status and composition of its current stockpile is not known.
Thailand’s neighbour Lao PDR, which is it the most heavily bombed country in the world, has ratified the Convention and will host the First Meeting of States Parties from 9-12 November. The Cluster Munition Coalition urges Thailand to sign the Convention without delay and to attend the First Meeting of States Parties.
For more information on cluster munitions in Thailand, please visit:
http://www.the-monitor.org/index.php/cp/display/region_profiles/profile/181
