SLOVAKIA plans to sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2015, with the accession process planned to start this year. The convention would become effective for Slovakia on January 1, 2016, which means that the country would have to destroy its munitions by the end of 2023.
The government discussed this as part of the proposal of the action plan of the realisation of Slovakia’s commitments based on the convention. The cabinet passed the action plan at its January 15 session, the TASR newswire reported.
The process is estimated to cost about €5.5 million.
The Defence Ministry has already passed measures that will allow the government to announce a ban on using cluster munitions.
The Cluster Munitions Convention has been valid since August 1, 2010, and by November 2013 as many as 113 countries have joined it, including most EU and NATO countries, TASR wrote. The US is not among the signatories of the convention. International pressure on countries to sign the convention is growing, according to SITA.
Amnesty International Slovensko welcomed the news. Its spokesperson, Jana Vargovčíková, said Slovakia deserves to become a party of the convention, which saves thousands of lives every year.
“We will closely watch the fulfilling of the action plan,” she said.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Michaela Terenzani from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
