For the twelfth time, Handicap International organises a nation-wide protest against the use of landmines and clusterbombs. In 39 French towns, people are invited to create “pyramids” of shoes, as an expression of solidarity with the thousands of victims who have lost limbs because of these “weapons of cowards”.

Cluster bombs consist of a container which holds dozens or hundreds of mini-bombs. They are usually dropped from areoplanes, and often end up in civilian areas. Up to 30% of these bombs don’t explode on impact, and present a permanent danger to populations during and after conflicts.

With their round shapes end bright colours, the mini-bombs can easily be confused with food rations or toys, especially by children. American cluster bombs dropped in Afghanistan had exactly the same shape and color as food rations dropped a few years earlier. Droppings of over 200,000 cluster bombs in Iraq have caused hundreds of civilian casualties, according to Human Rights Watch.

In the recent Lebanon crisis Israel dropped over 2.8 million mini-bombs, according to the United Nations. Abour one million haven’t exploded yet, and are still killing or maming three people every day. Worldwide, mines and other unexploded ammunition cause up to 20,000 casualties per year. Three out of four victims are civilians, one in five are children.

So far, only Belgium has outlawed cluster bombs. Handicap International hopes that France will soon follow suit.

Read more (in French) | Handicap International

[tags]France,cluster bombs,shoe pyramids,Handicap International[/tags]