Thomas Nash [coordinator, Cluster Munition Coalition]: "By the end of 2008 a new rule will be enshrined in an international legally binding treaty prohibiting the use of cluster munitions. This prohibition is the only way to prevent further humanitarian and developmental harm from cluster munitions and more and more international legal experts are coming around to this view, including the ICRC.

The rationale for such a new rule is quite simple: current IHL is not adequate on this issue because it is too difficult to apply and it is too open to interpretation. Just as importantly, only a precise and clear rule prohibiting the weapon will be able to send the message to both eventual states parties as well as non states parties that the use of such weapons is not morally acceptable.

There are some important points to consider in support of this rationale. First let us take the evolution of the UK's position on cluster munitions. For many years the UK maintained that no new rules were required on cluster munitions. Today the UK is working with other countries towards a specific treaty on cluster munitions. This recognition shows that the basis for new rules depends on the political will, not simply on legal arguments. Now that the political will is there, a new treaty is on the way.

Second let's consider the recent finding by the Israeli Defence Forces that its use of cluster munitions was in accordance with existing IHL. Whether or not one accepts this claim — and of course it could be debated — the very fact that it can even be claimed that such use was lawful shows the potential for existing IHL to be interpreted in ways that fundamentally undermine its potential for protecting civilians. Only a crystal clear rule can really protect civilians from cluster munitions.

So the rationale makes sense and the new rule is under rapid development. But what will the new rule mean? Of course it will prohibit the use of cluster munitions, as they end up being defined, thus stemming the flow of new victims and new unexploded cluster bomblets. Equally importantly though it will reinforce two broader norms of international humanitarian law. First the idea that it is simply unacceptable to use large amounts of explosive force in areas of civilian concentration and second that an obligation exists for countries which use explosive ordnance to clear it up afterwards. Aside from the immediate prohibition of an unacceptable class of weapons, the new cluster munition treaty will thus reinforce the type of clear and unambiguous standards that are needed if we are to move beyond current IHL and ensure real protection for civilians in armed conflict."