Ban against cluster bomb use to be signed in Norway

Dec 2, 2008, 15:30 GMT

Oslo - More than 100 countries were Wednesday expected to sign a ban against cluster bombs at a ceremony in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.

On the eve of the signing ceremony, Norwegian Defence Minister Anne-Grete Strom-Erichsen met on Tuesday with her Indonesian counterpart, Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono.

Both Norway and Indonesia were set to sign the treaty that bans the use, production, and trade of cluster munitions.

Cluster weapons - criticized for carrying a high risk of maiming or killing civilians - can be launched from the air or via artillery shells and can disperse hundreds of bomblets over a target area.

Children are often victims of the weapons since they sometimes mistake the so-called bomblets for toys.

Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and humanitarian groups have pushed for the ban grouped in the Cluster Munitions Coalition.

Major powers not signing the treaty adopted in May at a conference in Dublin, Ireland, include cluster bomb producers like the United States, Israel, China, Russia, India and Pakistan.

Norway's Nordic neighbour Finland said in October it was not to sign the agreement, and would discuss the treaty again 'after an evaluation of defence capabilities has been carried out.'