http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1011-35.htm
by Cesar Chelala, Beirut Daily Star (Lebanon) - October 11, 2006
QUOTE
The US State Department is investigating whether Israel's use of American-made cluster munitions in Southern Lebanon in July and August violated secret agreements between Israel and the United States. Confirmation of the use of such weapons shows the need for Israel to release information on the sites over which the bombs were dropped, as a step toward avoiding further civilian casualties in those areas.
In 1978 and in 1982, Israel used cluster bombs in Lebanon, although the US had placed restrictions and a moratorium on their use out of concern for civilian lives. Because of Israel's use of these weapons in civilian areas during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, the Reagan administration imposed a six-year ban on their further sale to Israel.
According to Dalya Farran, a spokeswoman for the UN Mine Action Coordination Center, cluster munitions have been found in 285 locations in South Lebanon. Because almost 30 new bombs are found every day, those so far found in Lebanon are just a fraction of the total number dropped on that country in the recent conflict.
According to Human Rights Watch, the use of such munitions in populated civilian areas violates international humanitarian law. What makes them particularly lethal is that they consist of a container that breaks open in mid-air and disperses smaller sub-munitions. These weapons are designed to explode on impact, right before and immediately after impact, saturating an area with flying shards of steel. These sub-munitions generally have a higher explosive charge than anti-personnel land mines.
The failure rate for cluster weapons is between 5 and 30 percent. Failure to explode on impact doesn't mean that the bomblets are harmless, however. On the contrary, they may explode with the slightest touch by a child or an innocent passerby. What makes them particularly dangerous is that they become more unstable with each passing year.
Currently, no treaty specifically regulates cluster munitions. However, Additional Protocol I of 1977 to the Geneva Convention has some internationally accepted legal standards to assess the problems caused by these weapons. While this protocol recognizes the inevitability of some civilian deaths, it also says that states cannot legally target civilians or engage in indiscriminate attacks.
Cluster munitions have the potential to be indiscriminate because they cannot be precisely targeted. In that regard, Article 51 (4) (
of Additional Protocol I specifically prohibits attacks "which employ a method or means of combat which cannot be directed at a specific military objective." Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, has said: "Cluster munitions are unacceptably inaccurate and unreliable weapons when used around civilians, and should never be used in populated areas."
Human Right Watch researchers were able to identify cluster munitions in the ar5enal of the Israeli forces stationed on the Israeli-Lebanese border. They include M483A1 Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions which, are US produced and supplied. These artillery shells have a high failure rate (14 percent) and leave behind unexploded ordnance. Lebanese security forces have denounced Israel's use of cluster munitions in its attacks not only on the village of Blida, but also on other Lebanese border villages, including attacks earlier this year around the contested Shebaa Farms area.
Because of the high proportion of civilians who have been killed or injured by these weapons, they are opposed by many organizations, such as the Red Cross, the Cluster Munition Coalition, and the United Nations. There is now a growing international consensus to stop the use of these weapons entirely.
In February 2006, Belgium became the first country to ban cluster munitions, and Norway announced a moratorium on the weapons in June 2006. Presently, more states are calling for a new international instrument to deal with cluster bombs, since it is felt that existing humanitarian law is not sufficient to respond to the issues associated with such weapons.
In a recent report entitled "Fatal Strikes: Israel's Indiscriminate Attacks Against Civilians in Lebanon," Human Rights Watch reported: "By consistently failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians, Israel has violated one of the most fundamental tenets of the laws of war: the duty to carry out attacks on only military targets ... the extent of the pattern and the seriousness of the consequences indicate the commission of war crimes."
Lebanon has repeatedly called for the release of information on the places that Israel dropped those weapons. The Israelis have refused to release this information. Since the truce was declared, several people have been killed and dozens wounded by these bombs. The US should make clear to Israel that it must provide complete information on the use of these weapons in Lebanon to avoid further civilian deaths in the beleaguered country.
Cesar Chelala is an international public health consultant. He wrote this commentary for The Daily Star.
In 1978 and in 1982, Israel used cluster bombs in Lebanon, although the US had placed restrictions and a moratorium on their use out of concern for civilian lives. Because of Israel's use of these weapons in civilian areas during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, the Reagan administration imposed a six-year ban on their further sale to Israel.
According to Dalya Farran, a spokeswoman for the UN Mine Action Coordination Center, cluster munitions have been found in 285 locations in South Lebanon. Because almost 30 new bombs are found every day, those so far found in Lebanon are just a fraction of the total number dropped on that country in the recent conflict.
According to Human Rights Watch, the use of such munitions in populated civilian areas violates international humanitarian law. What makes them particularly lethal is that they consist of a container that breaks open in mid-air and disperses smaller sub-munitions. These weapons are designed to explode on impact, right before and immediately after impact, saturating an area with flying shards of steel. These sub-munitions generally have a higher explosive charge than anti-personnel land mines.
The failure rate for cluster weapons is between 5 and 30 percent. Failure to explode on impact doesn't mean that the bomblets are harmless, however. On the contrary, they may explode with the slightest touch by a child or an innocent passerby. What makes them particularly dangerous is that they become more unstable with each passing year.
Currently, no treaty specifically regulates cluster munitions. However, Additional Protocol I of 1977 to the Geneva Convention has some internationally accepted legal standards to assess the problems caused by these weapons. While this protocol recognizes the inevitability of some civilian deaths, it also says that states cannot legally target civilians or engage in indiscriminate attacks.
Cluster munitions have the potential to be indiscriminate because they cannot be precisely targeted. In that regard, Article 51 (4) (
of Additional Protocol I specifically prohibits attacks "which employ a method or means of combat which cannot be directed at a specific military objective." Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, has said: "Cluster munitions are unacceptably inaccurate and unreliable weapons when used around civilians, and should never be used in populated areas."Human Right Watch researchers were able to identify cluster munitions in the ar5enal of the Israeli forces stationed on the Israeli-Lebanese border. They include M483A1 Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions which, are US produced and supplied. These artillery shells have a high failure rate (14 percent) and leave behind unexploded ordnance. Lebanese security forces have denounced Israel's use of cluster munitions in its attacks not only on the village of Blida, but also on other Lebanese border villages, including attacks earlier this year around the contested Shebaa Farms area.
Because of the high proportion of civilians who have been killed or injured by these weapons, they are opposed by many organizations, such as the Red Cross, the Cluster Munition Coalition, and the United Nations. There is now a growing international consensus to stop the use of these weapons entirely.
In February 2006, Belgium became the first country to ban cluster munitions, and Norway announced a moratorium on the weapons in June 2006. Presently, more states are calling for a new international instrument to deal with cluster bombs, since it is felt that existing humanitarian law is not sufficient to respond to the issues associated with such weapons.
In a recent report entitled "Fatal Strikes: Israel's Indiscriminate Attacks Against Civilians in Lebanon," Human Rights Watch reported: "By consistently failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians, Israel has violated one of the most fundamental tenets of the laws of war: the duty to carry out attacks on only military targets ... the extent of the pattern and the seriousness of the consequences indicate the commission of war crimes."
Lebanon has repeatedly called for the release of information on the places that Israel dropped those weapons. The Israelis have refused to release this information. Since the truce was declared, several people have been killed and dozens wounded by these bombs. The US should make clear to Israel that it must provide complete information on the use of these weapons in Lebanon to avoid further civilian deaths in the beleaguered country.
Cesar Chelala is an international public health consultant. He wrote this commentary for The Daily Star.