International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons

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German coalition launches with call for government to work towards global treaty ban

German NGOs have launched a domestic coalition to campaign against uranium weapons following a meeting in Berlin.
2 June 2010 - ICBUW

Four German NGOs: IALANA Germany, IPPNW Germany, Ju care Kinderhilfe and Arbeitskreis Friedenspolitik e.V. have invited others to join them to help pressure the German government into supporting international efforts to ban uranium weapons.

The coalition was launched following a meeting in Berlin in mid April. Together the organisations have drawn up a mission statement which is outlined below. The organisations are following the domestic coalition model that was so successful in Belgium and that has since been followed in the Nordic states and the UK. Plans are also believed to be well-advanced for a French Coalition.

German Coalition mission statement
The Coalition calls for:

An immediate end to the use of uranium weapons;
The disclosure of all areas where DU has been used and decontamination of these areas;
Unbiased analysis and the resumption of on-going scientific studies on the consequences of DU for the population and the environment;
Medical care for, and compensation of, affected victims;
The drafting of a Convention to Ban Uranium Weapons;
Renewed placement of DU on the German political agenda;
Support for a ban on uranium weapons by the German government on an international level;
For Germany to become a lead nation in the banning-process;
Support for a petition for a law to ban DU in Germany.

The two-day Berlin workshop that triggered the development of the coalition saw NGOs and private individuals engage in wide-ranging talks on the issue. One of the key discussions was that of causality. Attendees concluded that the assessment of risk was ultimately a political decision but that the available data supports action to restrict the use of the weapons. There were also discussions on whether uranium weapons had been used in Afghanistan - something suggested by a leaked Buneswehr manual leaked to ICBUW last year.

The German government's position
On the 1st June the new network met with the scientists, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representatives from the Ministry of Defence to discuss its concerns.

The meeting began with an intensive debate among scientific experts about the risks posed by uranium weapons. While there was some agreement over the toxic effects of DU there was disagreement over whether they caused widespread environmental damage. Representatives also made reference to the soon to be published European Commission SCHER report on the risks associated with uranium weapons. ICBUW has engaged with the development of the SCHER report from the outset, although ICBUW and MEPs had major concerns about the content of the preliminary draft. The final report is due to be published in the coming weeks.

Given the entrenched nature of the scientific debate and the dearth of data on exposed civilian populations, it was suggested by ICBUW that states need to urgently explore the legacy of uranium weapons and concentrate money and resources accordingly. This angle saw the early signs of a consensus building between the two sides. This was then followed with debate on the merits of whether Protocol V of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons might be amended to cover DU - with DU being considered as a Toxic Remnant of War (TRW).

Protocol V deals with Explosive Remnants of War - generally agreed to meaning munitions that fail to work as anticipated and leave a hazardous legacy. Protocol V set norms for the identification and management of sites littered with hazardous ordnance. While there is some debate on whether DU would be included in this, the standards set by the protocol regarding the marking and identification of sites are certainly relevant. The failure by the US to release the coordinates where it used uranium weapons in Iraq in 1991 and 2003 are hampering research and decontamination and causing unnecessary civilian exposures.

There was a pledge for both sides to stay in contact about developments.

The German coalition invites organisations interested in working on the issue of uranium weapons to contact them. For more information contact Prof. Manfred Mohr of IALANA on: mohrm@gmx.net