The Holy See condemned the continued use of cluster munitions during the III Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, held in the capital of Laos. Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, head of the Vatican delegation, stated that these devices create wounds that damage the very structure of life, affecting the social fabric of human communities, and called for universal ratification of the international treaty that prohibits these weapons.
The diplomat considered there to be a serious imbalance in the channeling of resources to armaments, noting that global military spending has surged in the past year, at the expense of funding for integral human development. The intervention argued that disarmament treaties constitute moral commitments to present and future generations.
The Holy See welcomed the achievements made in the 16 years since the first meeting of Member States, but lamented the modest pace of universalization of the instrument and the recent withdrawal of one State, identified as Lithuania. Portugal formally ratified the international document through Resolution of the Assembly of the Republic No. 141/2010.
