Ireland's attempt to ban Cluster Bombs

national | anti-war / imperialism | event notice Monday April 28, 2008 12:53 by Sarah Clancy - Galway One World Centre outreach at galwayowc dot org

The Ban Bus comes to Galway

The Galway One World Centre, The Galway Alliance against War and Amnesty International are delighted to host a photo exhibition and talk by Australian photographer John Rodstead, Norwegian campaigner Mette Sofie Eliseussen and Irish Journalist Aine Bonner of the Star newspaper. The event will take place in The Galway City Museum at 6.30 on Thursday 8th of May.

This event is part of a nationwide tour organized by the Cluster Munitions Coalition Ireland (CMC). The coalition is a group of Irish non-governmental organizations working to achieve a new international treaty to ban cluster munitions by the end of 2008. Irish Citizens have a unique opportunity to influence this process as the Department of Foreign Affairs is hosting ‘The Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions’. This major international conference will take place in Croke Park on the 19th – 30th of May.
The CMC wishes to create the public pressure and awareness that will ensure that the Irish Government will push for a treaty that is robust and clearly bans the use, production and sale of cluster bombs. In order to achieve this they have invited John Rodsted to share his most recent pictures taken in 2006 after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon which show clearly the effects these inhumane weapons have on civilian populations. Rodsted has a wealth of experience in this field having been the official photographer for the successful International Campaign to Ban Landmines. As an activist he has used his photography to great effect and hopefully this endeavour will meet with similar success.

Mette Sofie Eliseussen is a Norwegian campaigner who has extensive experience working in development and conflict situations including Afghanistan where Eliseussen established Save the Children USA's Kabul office in 1995. She was responsible for the safety and security of the development agency's 60 staff when the city became the scene of major fighting between the Northern Alliance and Taliban forces. During this difficult time, she designed and implemented several landmine awareness projects for Kabul's youth including the establishment of 18 mine-free playgrounds throughout the city. Eliseussen also helped establish the Afghan Campaign to Ban Landmines to ensure that Afghan civil society had a strong voice in the global movement to establish the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. As part of this campaign, she collected and delivered thousands of postcards from Afghan children calling for a total ban on landmines.

Our third guest, journalist Aine Bonner, has reported for The Star Newspaper for the last three years as well as contributing regularly to radio and television programs. As part of her postgraduate research Aine completed a dissertation ‘Money Versus Morals’ which examined Ireland’s economic links with the arms trade.
She was recently responsible for highlighting that even whilst the Irish government were campaigning to ban cluster bombs they were simultaneously investing money in companies that manufacture them. She revealed that over €500 million of the National Pension Reserve Funds were invested in the international arms trade, including in cluster munitions. Her articles were a main factor in the announcement on March 4th by Dermot Ahern that the National Pension Reserve Fund was withdrawing €27 million from six firms who manufacture these devices (including raytheon which incidentally has a factory in Derry).

For Further Info:
http://www.stopclusterbombs.ie/ http://www.stopclusterbombs.ie/petition