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Cluster Munitions (Prohibitions) Bill [Lords]

We have not had a very full explanation from the Minister. Of course my colleagues and I share his wish that our forces should not be placed in impossible positions in combined operations and that they should have the legal protection they deserve. They are fighting soldiers in those situations and are not expected to be lawyers, so we need to ensure that they are legally protected. The Committee is also owed a fuller explanation of how much of a limitation there will be, because we are doing this with some allies but not with others. Anyone studying this area will come to the conclusion that the prohibition on these nasty munitions will work only if all the main countries of the world do the same; it cannot work if a limited number do not play along.