Cluster bombs
the great clear up operation
Launched February 2002
In 2002 the Bank campaigned with landmine action in an effort to influence UK government and U.N. policy on the manufacture and use of cluster bombs.
What are cluster bombs?
One of the cheapest and most commonly used air-launched weapons, cluster bombs explode above a target to scatter hundreds of tiny bomblets across an area about the size of two football pitches.
These bomblets are easily blown off course, often landing in soft terrain or riverbeds, and thousands fail to explode on impact - effectively creating unmapped minefields. Like anti-personnel landmines, cluster bombs are civilian activated. Unlike landmines they are designed to kill.
Why we campaigned
Across the world innocent people are still at risk of death or injury from mines and unexploded ordnance like cluster bombs, long after wars are over.
That's why our cluster bombs campaign with Landmine Action (a 50-strong coalition, including Amnesty International, Christian Aid and Oxfam) called for a freeze on the use of cluster bombs until international laws tackle the devastation they cause.
Campaign Highlights
Landmine Action in Sudan, The HALO Trust in Nagorno Karabakh and MAG in Cambodia each received £43,000 to fund their clearance work. In addition we received over £5,000 in donations made by customers and the general public in response to our advertising campaign making a fantastic £134,000 in total.
The Bank supported Landmine Action Week (November 4-10th 2002) with the publication of a special report entitled 'Aftershock', in association with The Guardian.
Campaign Successes
The United Nations adopted a new International Treaty on explosive remnants of war in December 2003.
'This is an important step forward. The Treaty places responsibility on the users of weapons to protect innocent civilians from harm after fighting is over. It shows once again that real public concern can lead to action by the international community to save lives and livelihoods.'
Richard Lloyd, Director, Landmine Action.
And, in February 2007, 46 nations, including the UK, committed to a cluster bomb ban in 2008.
For more information about Landmine Action see www.landmineaction.org
Find out about the Bank's current campaign
