Washington and some states are according to Steve Goose Director of the Arms Division at Human Rights Watch and chair of the international Cluster Munition Coalition Campaigners. He and campaigners against cluster bombs are urging Governments to support an existing ban on the use of cluster bombs, and not create a new international law permitting use of these weapons, as two weeks of negotiations begin at the United Nations in Geneva. Diplomatic representatives from approximately 100 countries are meeting in Geneva for the Fourth Review Conference of the Convention on Conventional Weapons or CCW. The United States and some other countries are pushing for a new protocol that would allow the continued use, production, trade, and stockpiling of the cluster weapons. Most countries of the world, 111 in all, have already signed or ratified the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which comprehensively bans the weapon. Read - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/treaties-a-many-ratifications-prompted-by-un-ga-coming-together-by-ambassador-mo/35343 Steve Goose asserts: “we are convinced that this draft protocol could well result in an increase in use of cluster munitions and therefore an increase in civilians that are injured and killed by the weapon. If there is a specific new law that authorizes the use of cluster munitions the States who become part of it are more likely to use the weapon. They are going to feel they have the political and legal cover to do so, that does not exist today. Well we hope that all nations do get rid of cluster munitions which are over 30 years old but we are not impressed with the humanitarian impact that that provision will have. In part, because these cluster munitions are already reaching the end of their shelf life.” In effect, language that would appear to promote safety in allowing pre-1979 cluster bombs to be replaced with newer production in fact would be employed to provide a potential loophole for new cluster bomb use. “Perhaps the key point on why this provisional does not really matter is that all of these post 1980 cluster munitions are dangerous too. They also call unacceptable harm to civilians. It is not like a cluster munitions produced in 1979 is dangerous but one produced in 1981 suddenly does not pose any dangers to civilians. It is an absurd and arbitrary cut off,” according to Goose. By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey Facebook – Become a Fan at “Diplomatically Incorrect” Twitter – Follow us at DiplomaticallyX "WarCrimesJustice" Channel diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/war-crimes-justice