Ariel view of Parliament Hill, Ottawa

The delivery of 78,000 UK cluster bombs in the course of the Kosovo conflict: “may have resulted in the destruction of as few as 30 major items of military equipment (tanks, AP carriers, Artillery).” General Sir Hugh Beech, Institute of Strategic Studies

A US manufactured air-dropped cluster munition container and bomblet at a watering hole in Budib, Western Sahara.

“Everyday when we come to pick the little tobacco that is left we find new cluster munitions. This stops us from harvesting. We have lost our season”, Fatima Hussein, farmer, Touline in Southern Lebanon.

An artillery-delivered cluster bomblet with a failed self destruct mechanism in Southern Lebanon.

Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) can fire 12 x M26 rockets containing 7,768 submunitions from its rocket pods at the press of a button.

For 30 years, cluster bombs have been flagged as a humanitarian concern because they have proven to cause significant, predictable harm to civilians during a strike and afterwards.

The UK fired 98,000 Israeli manufactured M85 submunitons in and around Basra, Iraq in March Six year old Abdullah was injured during a cluster munition strike on a residential area of Basra. Shrapnel smashed through the window of his home, cut off his arm and tore open his abdomen.

Piles of Soviet manufactured cluster submunitions beside the runway at Bagram airport in Afghanistan.

So, what can I do?

WHAT CAN I DO? Collect signatures on the People’s Treaty! Let Prime Minister Harper know that you expect Canada to ratify this Treaty. Under invest in clusters by checking to see what your investments support! Submit an article or letter to the editor to your local newspaper, community newsletter or blog! Tell your MP you care about this issue and that you expect to see more national action and leadership on this issue from Canada! Use the Mines Action Canada Write Now e-Tool to send your MP a message! Educate others by giving a presentation, slide show or photo exhibit in your community! Raise funds to support to continued work of Mines Action Canada on this issue!

Acknowledgements Mines Action Canada would like to gratefully acknowledge the following colleagues for the use of their photos and research: Cluster Munition Coalition Handicap International Human Rights Watch (USA) Landmine Action (UK) Norwegian People’s Aid Landmine Resource Center (Lebanon) Mr. Simon Conway Mr. John Rodsted