UK Uranium Weapons Network
Campaigning for a ban on Depleted Uranium weapons
All Party Parliamentary Group on Depleted Uranium officially registered
Uranium Weapons Network is pleased to announce that the All Party Parliamentary Group on Depleted Uranium has been officially registered on Parliament’s website here.
The group has now met twice – the first meeting to establish the group, and the second (see post below) heard a presentation on the legal position of DU.
Next APPG meeting – Is it legal? with Prof Manfred Mohr. 7th September, Westminster
Is it legal?
A presentation on the legal status of depleted uranium weaponry
as it relates to international humanitarian law.
By
Prof. Manfred Mohr
Prof Mohr is a specialist in International Criminal, Humanitarian and Disarmament Law and currently serves as the Officer for EU affairs with the German Red Cross. He has more than 30 year’s legal experience with The Hague Academy, OSCE and Council of Europe. Prof Mohr is the legal adviser to the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW).
7th September 2011
4:45pm – 5:45pm, Room S, Portcullis House, Parliament
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The All Party Group on Depleted Uranium Weaponry has the following officers and members:
Katy Clark MP, Chair
Rt Rev Peter Price, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Vice-Chair
Sir Peter Bottomley MP
David Amess MP
Caroline Lucas MP
Stewart Hosie MP
Mark Durkan MP
Elfyn Llwyd MP
Tim Farron MP
Tom Brake MP
Mike Hancock MP
Julian Huppert MP
John Leech MP
Mark Williams MP
Tessa Munt MP (Sec)
Simon Wright MP
Michael Connarty MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Jim Dobbin MP
Mary Glindon MP
Fabian Hamilton MP
John McDonnell MP
Joan Ruddock MP
Paul Blomfield MP
The Uranium Weapons Network provides secretariat services.
DU campaigners sign open letter calling for Nuclear Arms convention
Four MPs and representatives from three NGOs have co-signed a letter printed in today’s Guardian calling for a Nuclear Arms convention “prohibiting use, development, production and stockpiling of nuclear weapons and providing a timetable for their elimination.”
These four MPs also signed EDM 825, calling for the government to support a UN resolution on Depleted Uranium weapons.
News release: Fears grow over possible depleted uranium use in Libya
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Issued jointly with CND
Campaigners from the UK Uranium Weapons Network and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament today expressed their growing alarm at the possibility that highly toxic and radioactive depleted uranium (DU) weapons have been used in Libya. The inhalation of DU particles, spread when the weapons hit their target, is thought to be linked to the sharp increases in cancer rates and birth defects reported in affected areas.
On Monday (28th March) the US Admiral William Gortney told the press that: “We have employed A-10s and AC-130s over the weekend” [note 4]. It is believed that six A-10s from 81st Fighter Squadron, which are typically armed with DU rounds, have been deployed [note 5].
A-10 gunships are designed to attack tanks, armour and other ground targets with their primary weapon – a cannon capable of firing either DU or high explosive rounds at a rate of 3,900 a minute. As armoured vehicles are being targeted it seems likely the cannons are loaded with the PGU-14 30mm armour piercing incendiary round, which contains a 300 gram DU penetrator. Strafing runs from A-10s can typically see hundreds of rounds being used, resulting in many kilograms of DU being fired.
A-10s were used against armoured targets in the Balkan and Iraq conflicts in the 1990s and 2003 and were responsible for the majority of DU used in Iraq and all that fired in the Balkans. Other US warplanes may also have deployed DU rounds – see note 8 for details.
Previously Admiral Gortney had suggested that only precision guided ammunition (i.e. bombs, not cannon rounds) was being used and stated that “At this time, [he was] not aware of any use of depleted uranium” [see note 6]. However it is now known for certain that the A-10′s cannon was used against two small boats on the evening of 28th March in an encounter involving the Libyan Coast Guard vessel Vittoria [note 7]. This means the Pentagon’s earlier assurance on the type of weapons used no longer stands and thus their comments regarding DU use are in doubt.
After MPs raised concerns over the potential use of DU in Libya, David Cameron told the Commons that “we do not use those [depleted uranium] weapons and are not going to use those weapons.” [note 9] Whilst British DU weapon systems are land-based, campaigners are demanding the UK push all coalition countries to rule out the use of DU.
John McDonnell MP said: “Whilst I welcome the Prime Minister’s assurance that British forces will not use depleted uranium weapons in this conflict, I am concerned that our allies may still do so. These weapons have the potential to cause long term health risks to civilian populations recovering in post-conflict zones – we have seen cancer and birth defect epidemics in Iraqi cities where it is believed that these weapons have been used.
“I have written to the Prime Minister asking for his assurance that he will do all he can to persuade our allies to refrain from using this weapon in Libya, and assure us that the government will add depleted uranium weapons to the list of other weapon systems that have been banned on humanitarian grounds, such as cluster munitions and landmines.”
Kate Hudson, General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said: “Depleted uranium weapons are weapons of indiscriminate effect – the cancers and birth defects they are thought to cause cannot be ‘targeted’ at troops. Using them in built up areas in effect targets civilians. This runs counter to everything the coalition has claimed about protecting civilians. This would mark the first DU use in conflict in more than eight years and would be an appalling step backwards. It is completely unacceptable – indeed illegal – to use weapons that cause long-term damage both to civilians and the wider environment for years after the conflict. Britain must demand clarity from the US and all coalition partners that DU is not, and will not be used in Libya.”
Lev Eakins, spokesperson for the UK Uranium Weapons Network, said: “The stated purpose of the military action is to protect Libyan civilians. This will not be achieved if depleted uranium weapons are used as they have the potential to harm civilians for decades to come. The coalition of states involved in this action should immediately give an assurance that depleted uranium will not be used and we call on the UK government to dissuade its allies from using them.”
- ends -
- For further information and interviews please contact either the UK Uranium Weapons Network (Dave Cullen) 0161 273 8293 or 07966 550674, or Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (Ben Soffa) 020 7700 2350 or 07968 42085
- For further details on the weapons and platforms involved, see http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/397.html
- The UK Uranium Weapons Network is a grouping of 15 organisations working to achieve a ban on the use of depleted uranium weapons in the UK http://uwnetwork.wordpress.com The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is one of Europe’s biggest single-issue peace campaigns, with over 35,000 members in the UK. CND campaigns for the abolition of all nuclear weapons everywhere. http://www.cnduk.org
- US Department of Defence News Briefing, 28th March, Vice Admiral Gortney http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4803
- A-10 reference site: http://warthognews.blogspot.com/2011/03/10cs-have-attacked-libyan-regime-forces.html
- US Department of Defence News Briefing, 25th March, Vice Admiral Gortney http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4799
- US Navy press report: http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=6347〈=0
- Concern also remains that US AV-8B Harrier aircraft have also used DU. In the past the AV-8B has fired PGU-20/U Armour Piercing Incendiary DU rounds from their rotary cannon – see http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/396.html. A US Marines press release on the 20th March stated that AV-8B Harriers from the 26th Marine Expeditionary unit, based on USS Kearsarge attacked ground forces and air defences in Libya. While dropping aerial munitions is more likely to have taken place than the cannon being used in strafing runs, it remains possible that these aircraft have deployed, or will deploy, DU weapons. See http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=6227〈=0
- David Cameron, House of Commons, 21st March http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2011-03-21a.700.0#g705.2 It should be noted that the only weapon platform that uses DU weapons in the British arsenal is the Challenger II tank, which is not deployed, or expected to be deployed in this conflict. It is therefore uncertain if the PM was referring to just this conflict, or any future conflict and urgent clarification is being sought.
Letter from John McDonnell MP to David Cameron over DU weapon use in Libya
From: John McDonnell
To: The Prime Minister
Re: Clarity sought over assurances given over depleted uranium weapons and allied use of depleted uranium weapons in Libya
Dear David Cameron,
In response to my intervention on the UN Security Council resolution 1973 debate, you assured me and the rest of the house that British forces “do not use those [depleted uranium] weapons and are not going to use those weapons.”
The reason I intervened, is that I understand it remains MoD policy* to use these weapons, and it was therefore surprising to see this policy change without any MoD announcement. Since the debate I have checked the MoD website several times, and it seems that the policy to use DU weapons remains.
Would you urgently clarify the government’s policy on the use of Depleted Uranium weapons, as I believe the spent ammunition near populated areas pose a significant health risk to civilians in post conflict zones, and would like to have an assurance that British forces will not use these weapons in any future conflict?
Secondly, I was alarmed to hear that six US A-10 aircraft have been in action over Libya at the weekend. These close air support aircraft are normally used against armoured targets, and are likely to be loaded with the PGU-14 30mm armour piercing incendiary round, which contains a depleted uranium penetrator.
Will you assure me that no depleted uranium ammunition was used by these aircraft and commit to urging all our military allies to refrain from using this radioactive and highly toxic weapon on humanitarian grounds?
The stated purpose of our actions in Libya is to protect civilians. This will not be accomplished if we, or our allies, use depleted uranium weapons.
Yours sincerely,
John McDonnell MP
*MoD DU policy “DU anti-armour munitions will remain part of our arsenal for the foreseeable future because we have a duty to provide our troops with the best available equipment with which to protect them and succeed in conflict.”
Prime Minister rules out British use of DU in Libya
The following exchanges occurred in the House of Commons on the 22nd March 2011, during the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 debate:
The Prime Minister: (in responding to an intervention from Jeremy Corbyn MP) “I also agree with the hon. Members who signed the amendment about the need to avoid the use of depleted uranium and cluster munitions. We do not use those munitions.”
John McDonnell: He made the specific point about avoiding the use of depleted uranium ordnance. Will he give a more categorical assurance that we will not use those weapons?
The Prime Minister: I could not have been more clear that we do not use those weapons and are not going to use those weapons.
The Prime Minister has given a categorical assurance that British forces will not use depleted uranium weapons in the Libyan conflict. This is despite the official MoD’s position that:
“DU anti-armour munitions will remain part of our arsenal for the foreseeable future because we have a duty to provide our troops with the best available equipment with which to protect them and succeed in conflict.”
The UK Uranium Weapons Network campaigns for a ban on DU weapons, and we welcome the decision of the government to rule out the use of DU weapons in the present conflict in Libya. We call on all belligerents in the current conflict to give similar undertakings.
However, we are seeking clarity over whether this ban will remain in place, should the conflict escalate into a ground war, and whether the government is lobbying its allies to refrain from using DU weapons in the same conflict.
Latest CADU news – with a 2010 campaign round up
The latest CADU News has now been published, with a round up of our busy 2010 campaign.
Well worth a read if you want to see if your MP or MSP was one of the 93 MPs or 19 MSPs who supported motions lodged in both parliaments calling on the government to support the crucial UN vote held in December.
Final scores on the doors
As the UN General Assembly went to vote – the final scores on the doors were:
A total of 93 signatures.
