Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 92: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the two day conference in Oslo in February 2007, co-sponsored by Ireland, Norway, Austria and New Zealand to call for a ban to cluster bombs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10382/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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On 22 and 23 February, Norway hosted an international conference in Oslo to discuss how to address effectively the humanitarian problems caused by cluster munitions. The conference followed the failure of the Review Conference on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), in November 2006, to agree on a mandate to negotiate an international instrument on the use of cluster munitions.

The aim of the Oslo conference was to outline the objectives and develop an action plan for a process leading to a new international instrument that will effectively address the unacceptable human and social costs of the use of cluster munitions. The conference was attended by 49 states, as well as a large number of non-governmental organisations. Ireland played a central role during the conference and chaired a number of sessions during the two days.

A declaration at the end of the conference was endorsed by 46 of the 49 participating states, including several states that possess cluster munitions. This was a much larger number than might have been expected. The Oslo Declaration, which I have placed in the Dáil Library, committed states to conclude a legally binding instrument by 2008 that prohibits the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. In addition, states committed themselves to establish a framework for cooperation and assistance that ensures adequate provision of care and rehabilitation to victims, clearance of contaminated areas, education on the dangers of cluster munitions and destruction of stockpiles of prohibited cluster munitions. This represents a successful and very encouraging start to a process which will undoubtedly be complex but which I am confident will gain further momentum in the coming year.

During the conference, Ireland called for a total ban on cluster munitions. We indicated that our call for a ban was as a result of concerns based on our experiences in peacekeeping and in humanitarian relief, where we have seen at first hand the dreadful impact of cluster munitions. We recognised, however, that while an outright ban might not be achievable immediately, we would work with other governments and civil society to make as much progress as is possible in present circumstances. In the absence of a ban and pending an effective instrument to address concerns regarding their use, Ireland declared its support for an immediate freeze on their use.

We remain committed to working within the CCW process, and elsewhere, to seek agreement on such an instrument. A series of meetings to further this objective will be held in the coming months. The International Committee of the Red Cross is organising an expert meeting in April. The CCW itself will hold a meeting of government experts in June. In addition, Peru will host a meeting in May under the Oslo process and this will be followed by a similar meeting in Vienna in December. Ireland has committed itself to hosting a meeting in Dublin in early 2008, when we hope that an international instrument will be close to finalisation. We will do everything possible so that these meetings can contribute to building momentum towards an effective international instrument.