Progress on cluster bomb pact reported

PROGRESS ON the drafting of an international treaty to ban cluster bombs was described last night by the Irish delegation at …

PROGRESS ON the drafting of an international treaty to ban cluster bombs was described last night by the Irish delegation at a conference on the issue as "very constructive".

Yesterday was the second day of the conference at Croke Park attended by representatives from 109 states, in addition to the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Cluster Munitions Coalition.

The conference aims to reach agreement on the final text of the treaty before it concludes tomorrow week.

The conference is closed to the media but, at the end of yesterdays discussions, a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said: "While a number of contentious issues remain to be resolved in the latter stages of the negotiations, discussions to date have been very constructive."

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The conference aims to end the production, use and stockpiling of cluster bombs.

Some of the most prolific users of the munitions, including the US, Russia and Britain, are not in attendance.

Alison Healy

Alison Healy

Alison Healy is a contributor to The Irish Times