Vientiane:The Third Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, recently held in Laos, issued a strong condemnation of the use of cluster munitions under any circumstances. The conference called for an immediate end to their use and urged full compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law, as reported by a Cambodian official.
According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, H.E. Heng Ratana, Director General of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), emphasized the conference's decisive stance against all forms of cluster munitions during remarks made on September 28.
Focusing on the local repercussions, Ratana detailed the impact of the deployment of approximately 6 to 7 million M42, M46, and M85 cluster submunitions by Thai forces on Cambodian soil. This affected Cambodian military and police forces and civilian areas across 349 villages, with 335 already surveyed.
He further reported that nearly 300,000 hectares of land have been impacted, affecting over 90,000 families, which amounts to more than 350,000 people. The ordnance caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure, harming schools, hospitals, health centers, pagodas, farmland, and residential homes. Ratana described these actions as a clear breach of international humanitarian and human rights laws.