Advocate!

Advocate!

Efforts are underway in the United States to limit the use of cluster munitions.

Congressional legislation has been introduced to:

• Prohibit the U.S. government from using, selling or transferring cluster munitions with less than a 99 percent functioning rate
• Prohibit the use of U.S.-made cluster munitions in civilian-populated areas and
• Require that if cluster munitions are used the President must submit to Congress within 30 days a plan for cleaning up unexploded submunitions

Q&A on the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act (PDF)

Full text of Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2007 (S. 594) and (H.R. 1755)

What You Can Do

Contact your congressional representatives and urge them to cosponsor or support Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2007 (S. 594) and (H.R. 1755).

Call, write, email or fax them today!

Most members of Congress have contact information listed on their site. Go to their websites (links below).

• Senate
• House of Representatives

For a sample letter please click here. If no contact information is available online or if you prefer to call, you can contact the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202)224-3121 and ask for your senators' and/or representative's office.

Remember that telephone calls are usually taken by a staff member, not the member of Congress. Ask to speak with the aide who handles cluster munitions and new legislation issues.

After identifying yourself, tell the aide you would like to leave a brief message, such as: "Please tell Senator/Representative (Name) that I support (S.594/H.R.1755) the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2007."

You will also want to state reasons for your support or opposition to the bill. You may also ask for your senator’s or representative’s position on the bill and/or request a written response to your telephone call.

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USCBL Takes on Cluster Munitions

As a member of the USCBL Steering Committee, AAM is also pleased to announce that the USCBL has officially expanded its mandate to include cluster munitions.

The USCBL’s revised goals are:

• U.S. accession to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and policies that move towards accession: a U.S. ban on the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of antipersonnel landmines; 
• increased resources for humanitarian demining and mine risk education programs;
• increased resources for victim rehabilitation, assistance, and psychosocial and economic inclusion;
• enactment of a U.S. prohibition on the use of cluster munitions in or near populated areas;
• enactment of a U.S. prohibition on the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians; and
• U.S.support for an international instrument prohibiting cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.

These revised goals will help USCBL and its partners push for support of the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2007 and other changes in U.S. policy toward cluster munitions and landmine issues.

CLICK HERE to help support AAM projects worldwide!

Additional Resources

• Find out more about the USCBL >>>
• See a short video about how one type of cluster bomb works and its use in Iraq (USA Today report).
• Adopt-A-Minefield is also a member of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC). Find out more about the CMC>>>

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