Moldova and Burkina Faso have become the latest countries to submit their instruments of ratification for the Norwegian-led Convention on Cluster Munitions during a United Nations meeting last week. Read the full story

Although 20 member states of the European Union signed a landmark treaty in Oslo banning the use of cluster bombs, one surprising holdout was Finland. The Nordic nation has been extremely vocal in its opposition to the ban, claiming that it still needs to keep cluster munitions in its arsenal to help properly defend its 1,300km border with Russia. Read the full story

Oslo was the site of a gathering of representatives from more than 120 countries who came to Norway’s capital to sign a landmark treaty banning the use of cluster munitions. That the US, China and Russia were no-shows wasn’t surprising. But Finland’s fierce opposition to the ban caught many nations off guard. Read the full story

Joining a group of 108 other nations, Norway has sent a proposal to its national parliament to destroy all of its existing cluster munitions and ban their future use. It is the end result of an international convention that Norway signed in Dublin earlier in the year, and a move welcomed by peace groups aiming to eliminate one of the cruellest and most undiscriminating weapons in modern warfare.

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