In this issue of UN Matters we urge supporters to take action against proposals currently under discussion at the UN that would weaken cluster munitions legislation.
We also call on all UNA-UK members to take part in the General Meeting on 24 November. At the meeting, the Board of Directors is asking members to adopt UNA-UK’s new four year strategic plan, and approve the merger of UNA-UK and the UNA Trust into a new charitable company.
Please remember that if you are not planning to attend the General Meeting, you can still vote by using the proxy voting form. Forms must be returned to Carol Hodson, Deputy Director, by 2pm on Tuesday 22 November.
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UNA-UK is the UK’s leading source of independent analysis on the United Nations and a UK-wide grassroots movement campaiging for a secure, just and sustainable world.
Photo caption:Soraj Ghulam Habib lost both his legs when a BLU-97 cluster submunition exploded near his home in Herat, Afghanistan. He was only 10 years old at the time.
BLU-97 submunitions are one of the weapons that will be allowed under the proposal that is being discussed.
Photo credit: Alison Locke/CMC
UNA-UK urges protection of cluster munitions ban
Cluster munitions pose the most serious threat to civilians since landmines. They were responsible for more civilian casualties in Iraq in 2003 and Kosovo in 1999 than any other weapon system.
UNA-UK has been campaigning vigorously against a proposal, currently being discussed at the UN in Geneva, that would water down existing legislation that bans the use, sale, transfer and production of these weapons.
On 10 November, UNA-UK Chairman Sir Jeremy Greenstock wrote to FCO Minister Alistair Burt expressing the Association’s grave concerns that the proposal risks weakening the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), which has been ratified by 111 states, and reversing the progress made to date. Click here to read the letter.
Further action:
– Lord Hannay, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the UN (UN APPG), has taken an active lead on the matter in the House of Lords.
– Members of the UN APPG have been urged to sign an Early Day Motion calling on the UK Government to resist the proposed new legislation.
The UNA-UK General Meeting on 24 November 2011 is one of the most important meetings that UNA-UK has held in recent years. The Board of Directors will be asking members to adopt UNA-UK’s new four-year strategic plan, and approve the merger of UNA-UK and the UNA Trust into a new charitable company.
We urge all paid-up members to take part in this important meeting.
We also feature news and views from our membership. Ravi Kumar, Chair of UNA Birmingham, writes about caste discrimination, Sara Traubel covers UNA Youth’s activities in Aberdeen, and UNA-UK young professional Aaron Akinyemi reports on the UN NGO conference in Bonn.
UNA-UK is urging all its members and supporters to take action against proposals to weaken existing legislation on cluster munitions by signing the Avaaz petition endorsed by the Cluster Munition Coalition.
Cluster munitions pose a severe threat to the lives of innocent civilians, particularly children, even after a conflict has ended.
UNA-UK shares the view of many states, UN officials, leading NGOs and UK Parliamentarians that the proposals being discussed risk weakening the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the use, sale, transfer, production and stockpiling of these weapons. UNA-UK campaigned strongly for the Convention, which was adopted in 2008 and has now been ratified by 111 states, including the UK.
You can help us to ensure the Convention is not weakened by signing the petition, which will be handed directly to delegates at the 4th UN Review Conference of the Convention on Conventional Weapons currently taking place in Geneva.
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