Mennonite Weekly Review

Suraj Ghulam Habib, 17, of Afghanistan lost both his legs when he found a cluster bomb that he mistook for a can of food. He and five members of his family were walking home from a picnic when the bomb exploded. Suraj’s cousin was killed instantly, and everyone else was injured by the blast.

“Before I lost my legs I had great dreams,” Suraj said. “Cluster bombs have shattered my dreams.”

Cluster bombs have killed and maimed up to 100,000 people around the world. This weapon was widely used during the conflicts in Laos, Lebanon, Afghanistan and, most recently, Georgia.

Cluster bombs scatter dozens of smaller explosives across areas the size of football fields. The bombs often fail to explode on impact, invariably affecting civilians who encounter these weapons long after a conflict ends. According to the group Handicap International, 98 percent of cluster bomb victims are civilians, and 27 percent of those are children.

Earlier this month, 125 countries gathered in Oslo, Norway, to sign an accord banning the use of cluster bombs. The Convention on Cluster Munitions forbids signatories from using the bombs or engaging in joint military operations with armies that use them. Further, the accord provides strong humanitarian provisions for cluster bombs’ cleanup and victims’ assistance. Ninety-four countries, including Afghanistan and many NATO members, signed the accord.

Suraj was part of an international coalition that tirelessly advocated for a ban on cluster bombs. Before the convention in Oslo, Afghanistan was unwilling to sign the accord. Undeterred by his country’s reluctance to sign, Suraj spoke to a member of Afghanistan’s delegation.

Moved by Suraj’s story, Afghani officials reversed their position despite significant pressure from the United States to not sign the treaty.

The United States did not sign because the Bush administration argues that cluster bombs have legitimate military purposes. China, Russia, India, Pakistan and Israel are among the other countries that did not sign the accord.

While ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions is significant because of the impact on civilians, it also establishes a new international norm. By refusing to sign the accord, the United States is once again ignoring the international community and clinging to an outdated and pernicious weapon that wantonly kills and maims civilians.

If President-elect Obama is serious about repairing the image of the United States abroad, signing and ratifying the Convention on Cluster Munitions would display a renewed commitment to the international community and the protection of civilians during conflict.