Latest Edition of Mine Action Newsletter "Safe Passage" Released by US Dept of State

From The US Dept of State:

This particular issue of "Safe Passage" includes an article about a Mine Risk Education program in Jordan, a collaboration between JMU's Mine Action Information Center, Jordan's Life Line for Consultancy and Rehabilitation and Jordan's National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation. It also features clearance projects by DDG in Sri Lanka, enabling children to travel safely to school, and the Department of State's QRF in Bulgaria, helping to clear UXO after an accident at an ammunition storage facility. Survivors assistance is the focus of CALM, which recently raised funds to help child landmine accident survivors in Ethiopia. The Mine Detection Dog Center of South East Europe marked its 5th anniversary, and PM/WRA participated in an event at Texas A&M University.

Read the May 2009 Edition of SAFE PASSAGE here.

Call to Action: Tell Your Senators to Support Cluster Bomb Legislation!

From our friends at the US Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs:

Tell the Senate to Give Cluster Bombs the Boot! Join the National Call-in Day on Monday, March 30 Toll-Free Number: 1-800-590-6313

Two weeks ago Congress and the president permanently outlawed exports of nearly all U.S. cluster munitions because these weapons always end up harming more civilians than soldiers. Now, USCBL is organizing a national call-in day to help Congress take the next step: making sure the U.S. military never again uses its vast arsenal of nearly 700 million cluster submunitions.

The Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2009 (S. 416/H.R.
981) would block use of cluster munitions that leave behind more than one percent of their submunitions as landmine-like duds, and any use in areas where civilians live. Since only a very tiny fraction of the U.S. arsenal meets this reliability standard, the bill would effectively ban U.S. use. S. 416 was introduced a month ago and has already gathered 24 Senate co-sponsors from both parties. Increasing co-sponsorhip of this legislation will show President Obama that there is widespread support for him to join more than half the world's nations in signing the treaty banning these weapons.

Help save a life or limb by making a free phone call on Monday, March 30.

Together, we can generate hundreds of calls to senators who have not yet cosponsored the legislation. It's as simple as 1,2,3... (click read more)

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Obama Permanently Bans Export of Cluster Bombs

From our friends at the US Campaign to Ban Landmines:

President Obama will sign a law today that will make permanent a ban on nearly all cluster bomb exports from the United States. Congress included the export ban in an omnibus budget bill that passed the Senate last night. This provision will move the U.S. one step closer to the position of the nearly 100 nations--including our closest NATO allies--that signed a treaty banning cluster munitions in December.

The legislation states that cluster munitions can only be exported if they leave behind less than one percent of their submunitions as duds, and if the receiving country agrees that cluster munitions "will not be used where civilians are known to be present." Only a very tiny fraction of the cluster munitions in the U.S. arsenal meet the one percent standard. This export ban was first enacted in a similar budget bill in December 2007, but that law mandated it for only one year.

U.S.-exported cluster bombs were most recently used by Israel in Southern Lebanon, where dud rates were reportedly as high as 40 percent; hundreds of civilians and deminers have been killed or maimed since the fighting ended in 2006.