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The United States has rejected an international call to ban the use of cluster bombs, despite 46 other countries calling for a ban on the weapons.

Groups such as the Red Cross and the United Nations are opposed to cluster munitions because of the high proportion of civilians killed by the weapons.

But the US State Department says cluster bombs have a place in armed conflicts as long as countries follow proper rules of engagement.

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Forty-six nations at a conference in Norway have called for a treaty to ban such weapons by next year.

But some of the world's major military powers did not attend, including the US, Russia and China.

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Originally posted by Boom Boom:
[quoting ABC News] But some of the world's major military powers did not attend, including the US, Russia and China.

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Three other countries that did attend the conference also refused to sign on to the declaration.

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Forty-six nations adopted a declaration on Friday calling for a 2008 treaty banning cluster bombs, said officials for the Norwegian government and two non-governmental groups.

Of the 49 nations attending a conference in Oslo on cluster bombs, Poland, Romania and Japan did not approve the final declaration....

Cluster bombs are packed by the hundreds into artillery shells, bombs or missiles which scatter them over vast areas, with some failing to explode immediately. The unexploded bombs can then lie dormant for years after conflicts end until they are disturbed, often by civilians.

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Although previously reticent, Canada stepped up by the end of the conference to fully endorse the declaration. Of the states meeting in Oslo, only Japan, Romania and Poland did not support the declaration. “We are pleased that Canada has committed itself to such a treaty and expect it to be a very active participant in the process,” said Paul Hannon, Executive Director of Mines Action Canada, who attended the Oslo conference.

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[ 24 February 2007: Message edited by: M. Spector ]

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The weapons have recently been used Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Lebanon, it said. The UN estimated that Israel dropped as many as four million bombs in southern Lebanon during last year's war with Hezbollah, with as many
40% failing to explode on impact.

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Quite the measured response from Israel.

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Originally posted by siren:
Quite the measured response from Israel.

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Examination of the many unexploded cluster bombs indicated that they had been manufactured in the USA in the 1970's, which may explain the high rate of bombs that did not explode immediately.