ANALYSIS:Convention which was adopted in Dublin last May will be ratified in Oslo today, write Dermot Ahernand Micheál Martin
TODAY WILL live on as a proud and honourable day for Irish foreign policy, with Ireland's signature on and ratification in Oslo of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which was adopted by consensus by over 100 states in Croke Park last May.
We are thereby echoing the example we set 11 years ago, when we signed and ratified the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in Ottawa, and offered momentum and leadership in rapidly bringing that treaty into force.
The new convention prohibits all types of cluster munitions used in armed conflict and is future-proofed against potential loopholes created by new technologies. It has groundbreaking provisions for victim assistance and for international co-operation in clearance of contaminated areas.
For many years, Ireland has campaigned for action on cluster munitions. Throughout the process of negotiating the convention, we have spared no effort in delivering on the commitment in the programme for government to campaign for a complete ban on the use of cluster munitions. We have lived up to this commitment, in keeping with a long and honourable foreign policy tradition in Ireland, addressing weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons. We pay tribute to the support for our efforts across all shades of political opinion in the Oireachtas and to the spirit of co-operation which reflects the will of the Irish people.
A number of factors were decisive in forming our engagement on this issue. Both of us have seen at first hand the terrible harm done by cluster munitions to individuals, their families and communities.
And over the years, there was consistent feedback from our Defence Forces on peacekeeping duties and from development workers, who saw at first hand the appalling effects of these heinous weapons, killing and maiming individuals and deterring farmers and smallholders from planting and harvesting their crops.
Two elements are of particular significance in the process that delivered this new milestone in international humanitarian law. Its speed was remarkable. Negotiations were successfully completed in Dublin under Irish leadership in little over a year from commencement of the process in Oslo in early 2007.
The way we worked also marked a new way of achieving our goals. A core group of committed states - Ireland, Norway, Austria, the Holy See, New Zealand, Mexico and Peru - flanked by a much greater number of sympathetic states, worked closely with society and international organisations to bring about a comprehensive humanitarian treaty. The cross-fertilisation, stimulation and mutual respect enriched and sustained the process.
We pay tribute to the dozen Irish NGOs and to the Cluster Munition Coalition, the umbrella body for over 250 NGOs internationally, for their stalwart support throughout. The role of the International Committee of the Red Cross and of the UN was equally indispensable.
The Government will maintain its commitment in the period ahead, aiming first to get the 30 ratifications necessary for entry into force, and then to persuade all states to sign up. Already, states that do not feel ready to join, for their own reasons of national security, are being influenced to think twice about the use of cluster munitions. The convention will have a powerful stigmatising effect.
Much work remains to be done. Our campaign cry has been "No more victims!" The comprehensive ban is a major step towards that goal. But, in parallel with our campaign for entry into force and universalisation, we must now focus on clearance operations and stockpile destruction as further crucial steps along the way.
The convention has state of the art provisions on victim assistance. We owe it to survivors and deceased victims and their affected families and communities to enable them to lead productive and dignified lives by giving real meaning to these provisions.
The full measure of our success will be invisible, however. Let us imagine the "unknown survivor", representing the many adults and children who, thanks to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, will never be killed or injured by cluster munitions, who will live their lives blissfully unaware of the catastrophic effects of the weapon we have outlawed.
• Dermot Ahern is Minister for Justice; Micheál Martin is Minister for Foreign Affairs