Afri was one of the many NGOs which supported the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which eventually succeeded in achieving its goal when an international treaty banning landmines entered into force in March 1999.
In 2008 Afri became actively involved in the Campaign to ban Cluster Munitions, which also reached a successful conclusion, achieving a treaty to ban the use, deployment or stockpiling of Cluster Munitions, at the Dublin Diplomatic Conference in Croke Park in May 2008.
Following on these successes and with the encouragement of our patron, Denis Halliday, Afri has recently taken up the campaign towards securing a ban on Depleted Uranium Weapons, which have caused so much death and health damage throughout the world.
We are working on this together with the International Campaign to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW). In summer 2009 Afri invited the International Campaign Coordinator, Doug Weir, to Ireland to speak at a public meeting on the issue. Denis Halliday also spoke at that meeting which took place in Buswells Hotel, Dublin. While here, Doug together with an Afri delegation met with Senator Dan Boyle, who agreed to submit a private member’s Bill on the issue. He followed through on this and the Bill received its second reading in the Seanad on 3rd March 2010 and has now gone to committee stage, with cross-party support.
Afri intends to continue to campaign on this issue until a comprehensive international treaty similar to those on Landmines and Cluster Munitions is achieved.
Published by