The "First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention of Cluster Munitions" will be held in Vientiane, Laos PDR from 9-12 November. Pax Christi International Youth will be represented by Pax Christi’s International disarmament Officer Stijn Van Bever, who will participate in the Youth Leaders Forum of Mines Action Canada.
On August 1 the ban on cluster munitions entered into force. The convention on cluster munitions defends countries that ratified the convention to use cluster munitions, to manufacture or to invest in the production of these weapons and obliges them to destroy the remaining stock. The ban on cluster munitions is regarded as a historical moment of the year long campaign by the Cluster Munitions Coalition, an international coalition of actors from the civil society. Pax Christi International was a founding member of the Cluster Munitions Coalition.
The ban on cluster munitions is an historical step in the campaign against this terrible weapon. While this restriction is not globally applicable, it will make countries that would use the weapon more reluctant. The actual situation is not an ending point: large countries and major arms producers like the U.S., Russia or China have not yet signed the convention. Many countries that signed the convention have not yet ratified it. Moreover, there are still funds and commercial entities that are investing in companies that manufacture these weapons.
This meeting will lay the foundation for future engagement on the Convention by bringing together for the first time States Parties to the treaty, UN agencies, international organizations, civil society, and cluster bomb survivors. States will share progress and plans for implementation, with the aim of drawing up a blueprint to translate the treaty into action and meet the lifesaving obligations they have consented to be bound by.
Pax Christi will have several representatives in Vientiane. One of them is Stijn Van Bever, youth representative and Pax Christi International disarmament officer. He is selected by Mines Action Canada, to participate in their 2010 Youth Leaders Forum. Stijn will as well take part in the skills building sessions and real-time practice opportunities for topics such as lobbying and advocacy strategies; fundraising and grant management; media relations; volunteer management provided by Mines Action Canada, as he plans to attend sessions of the State Meeting and the conference organized by the Cluster Munitions Coalition. He hopes that Pax Christi and all presented youth campaign leaders can contribute to a global ban on these weapons by developing new initiatives in the campaign against cluster munitions so that a global ban may soon be realized.
