MCC U.S. and UK Working Group reports call for cluster bomb use to stop

Mennonite Central Committee
Saturday, 26 August 2000

AKRON, Pa. -- Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) U.S. and The United Kingdom (UK) Working Group on Landmines are calling for a moratorium on the use of cluster bombs.

In a report released the week of August 7, MCC U.S. highlights the suffering of innocent civilians from inaccurate targeting and unexploded ordnance. "Civilian deaths in Kosovo, Iraq and Chechnya bear tragic testimony to the inhumane nature of these weapons," says the report.

The release of "Clusters of Death: The Mennonite Central Committee Global Report on Cluster Bomb Use and Production," coincided with the release of "Cluster Bombs: The Military Effectiveness and Impact on Civilians of Cluster Munitions," from the UK Working Group on Landmines, a London-based partner of MCC U.S. That report was authored by Rae McGrath.

The writers of the MCC U.S. report, Virgil Wiebe and Titus Peachey, have advocated for an end to the use of cluster submunitions for several years.

"These research reports will help form a foundation for our efforts to end the production and use of cluster munitions," says Peachey. "Advocating a ban on a particular weapon system is not an end in itself, but part of our greater longing to see the peace of Christ come alive in our world."

The reports were released to the news media and will be sent to key congressional offices, especially those who have been active in the effort to ban landmines, and those in Congress active on peace and justice issues.

The MCC U.S. report, available online at , provides detailed information about the United States and Russian cluster bomb arsenals. Wiebe and Peachey underline the strategic role of cluster bombs in the military strategies of these two major powers. The report highlights the suffering of innocent civilians from inaccurate targeting and unexploded ordnance. Additionally, it examines the use of cluster weapons by the government of Sudan against a civilian population during that country's ongoing civil war.

The McGrath report concludes that the, "continued use of cluster munitions has cost thousands of civilian lives, denied land to the poor and disenfranchised and is now costing the international community millions in direct costs to eradicate the unexploded submunitions and many more millions indirectly in lost revenues to countries who are dependent on international aid." The study examines cluster bomb design, types of injuries caused by their use, the question of "dud rates," and case studies in Laos, Iraq, Chechnya, Kosovo and others.

The research of the UK Working Group on Landmines is funded by The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and MCC U.S.

Virgil Wiebe works at the Center for Applied Legal Studies at Georgetown University Law Center, Washington. Titus Peachey is with MCC U.S., Akron. Rae McGrath is an independent consultant and writer with the UK Working Group on Landmines, London. Active in the campaign to ban landmine, he was the former director of the Mines Advisory Group, with whom MCC partnered in the Laos clearance effort.

"Cluster Bombs: The Military Effectiveness and Impact on Civilians of Cluster Munitions" is available for $10 from MCC U.S., care of Titus Peachey, 21 S. 12th Street, Box 500, Akron, Pa. 17501. Orders may be placed through email at tmp@mccus.org.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org