Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 32: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if legislation to enable the international Convention on Cluster Munitions will be confined to the final text published following the Dublin meeting or if it will more comprehensively deal with issues of definition, new technology and interoperability. [34177/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Convention on Cluster Munitions was adopted by consensus by the 107 states that participated at the Dublin Diplomatic Conference hosted by the Government in Croke Park from 19 to 30 May last. The Convention will be opened for signature at a ceremony to be hosted by the Norwegian Government in Oslo on 3 December.

As a demonstration of commitment to its early entry into force, the Government is resolved to ratifying the Convention as soon as possible. To this end the Government last month approved the General Scheme of the Inhumane Munitions Bill and assigned priority to its drafting. It will be introduced in the Oireachtas very shortly.

The Bill will enable the State to meet its obligations under the Convention by implementing its provisions in domestic law, as necessary, and supplementing them where appropriate. The Bill will also make further provision for the implementation of the State's obligations under the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention.

The definition of a cluster munition under the Convention is comprehensive and will lead to the prohibition of all cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. The Convention prohibits all cluster munitions that have ever been used in an armed conflict.

During the negotiations however we remained concerned that new technologies could be developed to circumvent a prohibition of cluster munitions. The Irish delegation therefore proposed that the Convention also prohibit weapon systems that dispense bomblets that are designed to perform similar tasks to sub-munitions and that produce the same negative humanitarian consequences, but that would not be captured by the definition of a cluster munition. I am glad to be able to report that Ireland's proposal was accepted in the negotiations and that the Convention prohibits explosive bomblets that are specifically designed to be dispersed or released from dispensers affixed to aircraft in the same way as it does cluster munitions proper. The new Bill will therefore make appropriate provision for explosive bomblets as well as cluster munitions.

The issue of interoperability concerns relations between states parties to the new Convention and states that are not party to it. This was one of the central issues in the negotiations and the Convention makes detailed provision in relation to it. The Bill will ensure that future participation by the Defence Forces in UN mandated peacekeeping operations will be consistent with the Convention.

I look forward to the co-operation of all members of the House in ensuring that Ireland can ratify the Convention on 3 December.