Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Shahid Malik (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 5 December 2006 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Cluster Munitions

Question: Is my right hon. Friend aware that, according to the Mines Advisory Group and a cross-party group that was in Lebanon last month, some 32.7 million sq m of land are infected and contaminated by cluster munitions? According to the Mines Advisory Group, if the Israelis were to give it grid references for the 1.2 million bombs that were let loose in the last three days of action, instead of three children dying a day, as is the case, the number would, it hopes, be much less. Will he use his good offices to ensure that we put sufficient pressure on the Israeli Government to move forward on this important issue?

Answer: My hon. Friend is quite right. We have repeatedly urged the Israeli Government to provide the UN with detailed maps and other help in locating unexploded cluster munitions in the area that he describes. There is, however, a very determined effort under way to clear that area of unexploded weapons. As I have already indicated, we have given significant financial help to that effort.

Secondary information