NEWS RELEASE
THIRTY-FOUR GROUPS CALL FOR ISRAEL
TO RELEASE CLUSTER BOMB DATA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: George Cody 202-223-9333
WASHINGTON, DC - The American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL) www.atfl.org
presented a letter to Secretary Condoleezza Rice, on behalf of 31
organizations, calling for U.S. government intercession with Israel to
obtain detailed site information on Israel's cluster bomb strikes in
Lebanon in the summer 2006 war. (Three organizations have been added since the letter was delivered.)
ATFL Executive Director Dr. George Cody said
"Our primary concern is to expedite remediation of cluster bomb sites
and to ensure the safety of the brave demining teams in the field,
UNIFIL and Lebanese Army personnel, and civilians including USAID
employees."
Israel's strikes left an estimated 1 million
unexploded cluster munitions on the ground in Lebanon, contaminating a
total of 37,900,457 square meters. Only 131,695 of these munitions have
been cleared as of 16 October 2007. The unexploded munitions have resulted
in 38 fatalities and 217 injuries since the 14 August 2006 cease-fire.
Assistant Secretary of State C. David Welch
told the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia on 18
April 2007 that "Israel has not yet provided detailed information." The
15 March 2007 U.N. Secretary General's report on Security Council
Resolution 1701 reported: "Despite repeated United Nations efforts...I
regret that Israel has not yet provided UNIFIL with this data..."
The 34 groups seek a meeting with Secretary
Rice to discuss the humanitarian importance of the cluster bomb
targeting information and steps that can be taken to obtain the data.
A listing of the 34 participating
organizations follows.
PARTICIPATING
ORGANIZATIONS
