On 30 May 2008, 107 participating states at the Dublin Conference on Cluster Munitions agreed to adopt the text of the new Convention on Cluster Munitions. By doing so, they fulfilled their commitment made in the Oslo Declaration (23 February 2007), to:
“Conclude by 2008 a legally binding international instrument that prohibit the use and stockpiling of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians and secure adequate provision of care and rehabilitation to survivors and clearance of contaminated areas”.
The new convention will be opened for signature at a ceremony in Oslo on 3 December 2008. All states wanting to join the new Convention can attend this ceremony, or sign later at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The new convention prohibits all use, stockpiling, production and transfer of Cluster Munitions. Separate articles in the Convention concern assistance to victims, clearance of contaminated areas and destruction of stockpiles.
The Convention is a result of the Oslo-process, an open and timebound diplomatic process that included States, Civil Society, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations.
