Canada likely further target for criticism on bomb stance
PM’s inaction on cluster bombs at odds with position on Syria chemical attack, say treaty supporters
Chris Cobb
Ottawa Citizen
08 September 2013
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s public outrage over the use of chemical weapons in Syria conflicts with his government’s refusal to support a worldwide ban on cluster bombs, say advocates for an international treaty aimed at eradicating the deadly weapons.
International criticism of Canada’s stand on cluster munitions has been constant during the past few years and is expected to continue this week as government and civil society groups gather Monday in Lusaka, Zambia, for a summit on the progress of a 2008 treaty to eradicate clusters.
And a global report released late last week accused Canada of being out of step with the 83 countries that have signed and ratified the treaty.
Cluster weapons, the deadlier cousin of landmines, scatter small, multicoloured bomblets that have a high failure rate on impact but can remain deadly indefinitely if disturbed. The majority of victims are civilians, overwhelmingly children.
Syria has been widely condemned for using clusters during its current internal conflict — a condemnation that is repeated in the 2013 edition of the Cluster Munition Monitor, which reports that at least 165 Syrian civilians were among the world’s cluster casualties from July 2012 through June this year.
Canada was one of the first countries to sign the treaty in Oslo almost five years ago but domestic legislation is needed before the government can formally ratify and be bound by the treaty.
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued parliament the controversial ratification bill had still not become law and its future now remains uncertain.
“The only users of this inhumane weapon now are desperate dictators like Moammar Gadhafi and Bashar al-Assad,” said Paul Hannon, executive director of the anti-mine and cluster advocate group Mines Action Canada. “When Parliament returns it needs to amend the legislation to send a strong message that Canada will never support the use of cluster munitions by anyone anywhere.
The use of chemical weapons in Syria has overshadowed the use of clusters, added Hannon.
“But it’s a similar situation,” he said. “It’s an indiscriminate and inhumane weapon and there is an international norm against its use.
“We’re hoping that the widespread condemnation of Syria’s use of cluster munitions will help the government realize that this is a seriously problematic weapon,” he added, “and they should not contemplate assisting anyone to use it in the future.”
The treaty prohibits the use, production, transportation and stockpiling of cluster bombs and requires that ratifying countries clear all cluster remnants within 10 years and provide humanitarian assistant to those maimed by the weapons.
The main issue is a clause known as Article 21 — also known as the interoperability clause — that was included in the original treaty over the objections of some countries to legally protect the armed forces of ratifying nations if they are on joint cluster-bombing operations with military from non-ratifying countries.
The United States, China and Russia are among the few countries that have stated they will never sign the treaty. All three are major producers and stockpilers of the weapon.
Canada does not produce or use clusters and other than its military relationship with the United States has no vested interest in the weapon. But critics of Canada’s ratification legislation say it contains so many exceptions that it no longer adheres to the spirit of the treaty.
As currently written, the legislation would, among other exceptions, allow Canadian commanders leading joint operations to order troops from “non-signatory” countries to use clusters or permit Canadian pilots on joint operations to drop them.
These “opt out” clauses in the legislation caused the resignation last year of veteran negotiator Earl Turcotte, who led Canada’s delegation when the treaty was drafted. The treaty’s Article 21 was never mean to “aid and abet” the use of clusters, he said after resigning.
“Most tragically,” he said, “it will make Canada complicit in the use of a weapon that for good reason we have supposedly banned. Having led the delegation I can say that without doubt this legislation is the worst of any of the countries that have so far ratified the treaty.”
The federal government denies this and says the bill meets all of Canada’s humanitarian obligations under the treaty.
While Hannon expects more criticism of Canada at the Lusaka meeting, he says there will also be a push to prepare humanitarian aid for Syrians.
“We need to be prepared to move in quickly once the conflict ends” he said, “because we know there will be remnants of cluster munitions left behind and they will be a great danger to refugees and displaced people as they start to move back to their homes.”
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