Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

There have been a number of allegations by NGOs relating to the supply of cluster munitions to the Government of Sri Lanka in the conflict with the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam, LTTE. In February this year, press reports cited UN sources in Sri Lanka in reporting that cluster munitions were used in an attack on a hospital in which 52 people were killed. However, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs later confirmed that it had no evidence of the use of cluster munitions in this incident.

There is no evidence currently available to confirm the possession or use by Sri Lanka of cluster munitions. The Government of Sri Lanka has denied that it possesses or has used cluster munitions. What seems probable is that we will be able to ascertain the full facts only when the conflict is over and technical experts can be deployed to the scene.

In line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, the Government has worked to achieve a complete ban on the use of cluster munitions. The diplomatic conference in Dublin in May 2008 adopted the Convention on Cluster Munitions and Ireland ensured it was among the first to ratify the convention when it opened for signature in December 2008.

The convention has to date been signed by almost 100 countries. Signatories commit themselves to an immediate and unconditional ban on all cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. Each State party undertakes never in any circumstances to use, develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer cluster munitions, or to assist another party in doing so. I urge all states that have yet to sign the convention, including Sri Lanka, Israel, the Russian Federation and Pakistan, to do so.

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