On Wednesday 27 June 2007, Gordon Brown became the UK’s new Prime Minister. This time of transition presents a valuable opportunity to request UK government’s full commitment to the protection of civilians from the effects of cluster bombs through decisive domestic policy and full support for the strongest possible international treaty banning the weapons.

The Prime Minister and his new cabinet will spend the first 100 days in post reassessing and developing priorities for the future and we are asking the British public to contribute to this process by contacting the new Foreign Secretary, David Miliband to request his department address the cluster bombs issue immediately.

Use the form opposite to email David Miliband.

Alternatively you can download a sample letter to adapt in your own words and send to:

milibandd@parliament.uk or,

The Rt Hon David Miliband MP
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

Full text of email to David Miliband:

Dear Rt Hon David Miliband,

Congratulations on your appointment to the post of Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

I am writing to request your commitment to the protection of civilians from the effects of cluster munitions and the UK government’s full support for the strongest possible treaty banning these weapons.

As part of the Oslo Process on cluster munitions, the next 12 months presents the UK with an important opportunity to strengthen the norms of international humanitarian law and to establish improved protection for civilians in times of conflict.

A treaty prohibiting cluster munitions would represent an historic achievement - not just in the protection afforded to civilians but also as a marker of states taking responsibility to ensure that protection.

Cluster munitions have killed and injured civilians repeatedly and consistently over the last 40 years. As well as causing civilian casualties at the time of attacks, these weapons also produce a landmine-like contamination that continues to kill and injure for decades afterwards.

Current UK policy places faith in solutions that have been demonstrated not to work.  The UK’s retention of its M85 cluster munitions (one of the types used by Israel in its notorious cluster bombing of Lebanon last year) is incompatible with claims of commitment either to humanitarian protection or evidence-based policy making.  These weapons should be withdrawn from service.

If the UK government takes the final steps to a policy that will genuinely protect civilians it will establish also a basis for leadership on this issue internationally. 

The time to act is now.

Yours sincerely,