Written question asked by Robert Goodwill (Conservative) on Friday, 10 February 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 14 February 2006. It was answered by Adam Ingram (Labour) on Monday, 27 February 2006 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Cluster Munitions

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on whether cluster munitions should be subject to similar restrictions to those imposed on land mines under the Ottawa Accord.

Answer: Some cluster munitions remain unexploded through malfunction and leave Explosive Remnants of War (ERW). United Kingdom played an active role at the United Nations in creating a new legally binding protocol on ERW that will offer significant humanitarian benefit to those areas affected. Cluster munitions differ from anti-personnel landmines in a number of ways and the UK has not supported steps to broaden the scope of the Ottawa Convention to include them.

Secondary information