A small step... Peru throws Doe Run out of Peruvian mining association...

i've posted on this corporate atrocity of pollution and greed a number of times (see here) going back to 2006... i see they've finally been called out in peru, not that the damage is going to stop, of course...

Peru's mining, oil and energy association (SNMPE) said Saturday it has expelled US mining company Doe Run from its roster for not cleaning up its pollution problems, which environmentalists say are among the worst in the world.

"It has not shown... any willingness to comply with its environmental commitments and its obligations to the country, its workers, the La Oroya population and its creditors," SNMPE said in a statement.

Doe Run in 1997 took over La Oroya mining complex and the Cobriza copper mine in Peru's central Andean mountain region, where it mines for lead, copper, zinc, silver, gold and a series of byproducts including sulfuric acid.

The US company's La Oroya mining operation was listed in 2007 by the international environmental group Blacksmith Institute as the sixth worst polluted site in the world.

doe run and its twice-removed parent company exemplify all that's bad about big corporations, particularly among the extractive industries, working in the developing world... they feel they can operate with impunity and are frequently able to get away with it not only because governments often times don't have the means to do anything but also because the local people are desperate for jobs and income even if it means that both they and their kids risk death in the bargain... it's bad, totally unethical and should be stopped... we're way, way past due for accountability and respect for human life and human dignity in almost every area of human existence...

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McCain will continue to reward narco-fascist regimes that side with the U.S.

and attempt to interfere with the internal affairs of states that insist on charting their own course independent of the u.s...

"If I am elected president (…) We will work to prevent Venezuela and Bolivia from taking the same road to failure Castro has paved for Cuba, and we will broaden and strengthen ties with key states like Brazil, Peru, and Chile," McCain said.

Likewise, McCain criticized Obama for opposing to a free trade agreement with Colombia.

"Colombia is a beacon of hope in a region where the Castro brothers, [Venezuelan President] Hugo Chávez, and others are actively seeking to thwart economic progress and democracy," McCain added.

what do brazil, chile, colombia, and peru have in common...? that's right... they all have significant energy and mineral resources and are willing to cooperate with the u.s. its own terms... what does colombia have that makes it a "beacon of hope"...? it lets the u.s. military play an unfettered hand within its borders, to say nothing of the billions of dollars the u.s. spends arming the colombian military lining the pockets of its wealthy elites...

what do bolivia, cuba, and venezuela have in common...? bolivia and venezuela have significant energy and mineral resources and are led by populist governments intent on having the final say about how their resources are used... all three insist on charting an independent course, free of controlling u.s. influence...

to the money and power-crazed criminals that preside over my country, governments of, by, and for the people are acceptable only if those governments fully align themselves with u.s. "interests"... if a country is governed by super-rich, narco-fascists AND is fully aligned with u.s. "interests," hey...! that's ok... after all, it's u.s. "interests" that really matter...

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One reason why it's nice to live in Argentina (at least for now)

i've been curious why i am getting more peso for my dollar now than i was last year... i'm not complaining, mind you, but, as i've watched the dollar's dizzying fall, i've begun to wonder if something bad is about to happen...

i read today that argentina claims it's keeping the peso artificially weak in order to keep its exports competitive, something i had thought was going on but hadn't been quite sure of since i don't follow much of the local news... browsing nouriel roubini's rge newsletter this morning, i got an eyeful...

here's how a basket of south american currencies, plus the euro as a point of comparison, stack up exchange rate-wise vis a vis the dollar over the past two years... that last graph will undoubtedly smack you right in the face as it definitely did to me...



U.S. Dollar vs. Brazilian Real
(approx. 20% appreciation)



U.S. Dollar vs. Chilean Peso
(approx. 18% appreciation)



U.S. Dollar vs. Colombian Peso
(approx 10% in two years,
but 23% from that peak)



U.S. Dollar vs. Peruvian Neuvo Sol
(approx 16% appreciation)



U.S. Dollar vs. the Euro
(approx 21% appreciation)



U.S. Dollar vs. Argentina Peso
(approx. 2% depreciation)

in short, the current rate of exchange i enjoy - $USD1 = $3.15AR - would be $USD1 = $2.80 - had argentina allowed the peso to appreciate against the dollar...

mark turner writing in rge...

Argentina is now officially playing with fire. It doesn't take Einstein to work out that the Peso is lagging behind all other regional currencies (check those charts again), and by going to the open foreign exchange market with a fixed amount of Pesos to sell they are making a huge tactical mistake. The well-founded word on the street a couple of weeks ago was that economy minister Lousteau was very close to resigning. When the forex market has finished with him and his half-baked plan, he might just get fired first.

if and when that devaluation comes - and you can bet it will, sooner or later - a lot of people here, myself included, are going to get nailed, which will be just one more chapter in this boom-bust-boom-bust country that has been going on for over a hundred years...

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Earth to the NYT: don't pass the Peruvian FTA

the nyt's wrong-headed editorial, endorsing the peruvian free trade agreement...

Pass the Peruvian F.T.A.

The Peruvian deal would help expand trade between Peru and the United States, which today stands at about $9 billion. It would give American businesses greater access to Peru’s markets in everything from grains to tractors and other machinery.

Perhaps more important, the agreement would strengthen an essential ally in the combat against illegal narcotics in the Andes and tighten relations with one of the United States’ few remaining friends in South America — where Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez is gaining allies by spreading oil wealth around. In an open letter, all eight living former secretaries of state urged Congress to approve the Peru deal.

i'm thoroughly sick and tired of these bogus arguments for reducing yet another country to the status of u.s. chattel... american businesses do not need "greater access" to anywhere... they're already heavily exploiting peru, and all the fta will do is to make such exploitation easier... it certainly won't fix la oroya (see here and here)...

and then there's the bogus drug war, simply another way of shackling a country to the united states in the form of mountains of aid that also opens the door to the permanent stationing of u.s. troops as we are seeing in both colombia (here and here) and paraguay (see here)...

finally, could we PLEASE stop making hugo chávez the latest embodiment of the great satan...? why, ferchrissakes, do we ALWAYS have to have a great satan threatening us...? (never mind... i know why...)

let's stop the bullshit... we need to stop kidding ourselves about what these so-called "free" trade agreements are really meant to accomplish...

from my post of october 18...

The Peru Trade Agreement: Exploiting the Rainforest and Workers

Democratic leaders are threatening to try to pass a trade agreement with Peru that would give U.S. oil companies powerful new rights to exploit Peru’s Amazonian rainforest. It would also give Citibank the right to sue Peru if the country reverses the failed privatization of its Social Security system. No U.S. union or environmental, faith or development group supports the agreement. Peruvian indigenous leaders are calling for its rejection.

This agreement was negotiated by the Bush administration on the same principles as NAFTA. Some Democrats claim to have added labor and environmental standards, but these do nothing to fix many of the worst effects of the agreement.

when are we going to learn that the world is not ours to do with as we goddam well please...?

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Exploiting the rainforest of the Amazon headwaters in Peru

being a part-time resident of argentina, and after my various posts on la oroya, peru (here and here), and the more recent one on gold mining in honduras, i am feeling particularly sensitive to the exploitation of resources in latin america by u.s. companies...

The Peru Trade Agreement: Exploiting the Rainforest and Workers

Democratic leaders are threatening to try to pass a trade agreement with Peru that would give U.S. oil companies powerful new rights to exploit Peru’s Amazonian rainforest. It would also give Citibank the right to sue Peru if the country reverses the failed privatization of its Social Security system. No U.S. union or environmental, faith or development group supports the agreement. Peruvian indigenous leaders are calling for its rejection.

This agreement was negotiated by the Bush administration on the same principles as NAFTA. Some Democrats claim to have added labor and environmental standards, but these do nothing to fix many of the worst effects of the agreement.

you can voice your concerns here...

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Locals resist irresponsible gold mining in Honduras

i've posted a couple of times about the doe run la oroya operation in peru (here and here)... there seems to be a lot of movement in the grassroots in latin america about many things, and mining activities are a big one... here's an excerpt from a story about community resistance to gold mining in honduras...

On January 9, 2007, representatives from the Mam-Mayan villages that neighbor the "Marlin mine" in San Miguel Ixtahuacan, San Marcos, Guatemala, operated by Goldcorp Inc's wholly owned subsidiary Montana Exploradora, visited the mining company office. They presented a petition to Goldorp Inc. requesting a resolution to a number of problems suffered due to mining operations.

[...]

On January 10, community representatives returned to the Goldcorp offices for the response to their petition. According to testimonies, company representatives not only denied all responsibility for the problems, but also insulted them.

Upon leaving the companies installations, the community representatives met up with some community members and began walking to their homes. About two kilometers from the mine entrance, members of Goldcorp's private security company attacked the campesinos throwing rocks at them and firing guns, and attempted to force one man into a company car.

[...]

On January 22, the company initiated penal charges against 22 residents of communities neighboring the mine. Arrest warrants were issued for 7 of the 22.

[...]

On September 11, the trial was officially opened and on September 26 the trial began. The next phase, the presentation of evidence is scheduled for October 8, 2007.

The communities continue to seek remedy for the damages they are suffering. The communities are extremely concerned about information disseminated by Goldcorp Inc's public relations department in which they announce plans to release water with residues from processing gold, a process in which cyanide, arsenic and other toxic chemicals are used, into the Tzalem river, a tributary of the Cuilco river.

a little bit about goldcorp, a canadian company based in vancouver, b.c... (note: the company DOUBLED its reserves in 2006... add that to the soaring price of gold - $741.20 per ounce as i write this, up from $530 in january 2006 - and you can see that goldcorp is drowning in profit... also note that 70% of the company operations are in nafta countries...)

Goldcorp is a leading gold producer engaged in gold mining and related activities including exploration, extraction, processing and reclamation. The Company’s assets are comprised of 11 operations and 7 development projects throughout the Americas. Over 70% of Goldcorp’s reserves are situated in NAFTA countries.

Goldcorp is one of the world’s largest gold mining companies and in 2006 the Company doubled its reserves and resources from 5 million to 10 million ounces through the acquisition of assets from Barrick (Placer Dome) and Glamis Gold Ltd. Gold production is forecast to increase by over 50% in the next five years.

and like doe run in la oroya, goldcorp touts its civic activities...

Goldcorp has created a number of programs that provide communities with economic and technical means to achieve sustainability. One of the health programs, initiated by the San Martin foundation, and together with the Spanish NGO Dentistas Sin Fronteras, worked to bring a dental brigade to Valle de Siria, Honduras.

from goldcorp's website information about the honduras marlin mine... (note: also like doe run, goldcorp runs its operations through wholly owned subsidiaries to better protect the parent company from financial risk...)

The Marlin mine is 100% owned by Montana Explorada de Guatemala, S.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Goldcorp. The Marlin Mine is a conventional milling operation with a combination of open pit and underground mining which began commercial production in Dec 2005.

Marlin Mine is in the western highlands of Guatemala, 48 kilometers southwest of the city of Huehuetenango, approximately 300 kilometers northwest Guatemala City. The project lies within a highly prospective land package of approximately 100,000 hectares that encompasses the main Marlin deposit and other important mineralized zones.

Commercial production commenced in the forth quarter of 2005 and in its first full year of production Marlin achieved 161,000 ounces of gold and 1.6 million ounces of silver in 2006. Production from the Marlin mine is expected through to 2015.

we need to keep things like this visible... you have to ask yourself WHY the goldcorp would have 70% of its operations outside the u.s. in lesser-developed countries... you also have to ask yourself WHY the locals are upset, in spite of the fact that the company provides jobs and sponsors civic health projects for the community...

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Back in Amerika

and sitting in lax waiting for a connecting flight... all went smoothly from argentina to here via peru, so, other than the usual mental fog hanging around after an all-night flight, all is well... an la woman with a one-year old little boy sat next to me on her way back from visiting her parents in peru, and the kid was not a happy camper and fussed and cried off and on all night... but, ya know, both she and the kid were so sweet and pleasant (minus the crying), i just shrugged it off... besides, my industrial strength earplugs and eye mask take care of most of the outside world...

now, it's off to texas for a week in bubba-land...

i gather bush is still in office... < sigh >

chau for now...

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A follow-up on La Oroya, Peru, Doe Run and Renco Group

back in mid-june, i posted on doe run, a subsidiary of renco group... doe run is a precious metals company based in st. louis, with an operation in la oroya, peru... it wasn't a particularly uplifting story, but nevertheless exemplified what many companies do when operating in a country and a regulatory environment where there is little to no accountability...

some key points - and photos - from that post, courtesy of the la times...

* In 2006, the Blacksmith Institute, a New York-based environmental advocacy group, named La Oroya among the world's 10 most-polluted places, a list that includes Chernobyl, Ukraine.

* In children, a [blood-lead reading of] 10 micrograms a deciliter, is considered elevated by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials at Doe Run acknowledge that almost every child tested in the Old Town has a blood-lead reading at least double that level.

* A St. Louis University research team said La Oroya faces a "daily toxic cocktail" and labeled the situation "an environmental health crisis."

.
Decades of toxic emissions have robbed the nearby mountains of vegetation

.
(L) Men and women scrub down a street in La Oroya to wash away lead and other contaminants spewed from the smelter.
(R) Crispin Huaroc, 63, wears rubber gloves as he cleans masks used at the smelter, where he has worked for 37 years.

from ips, there's this...

Far from halting the source that is poisoning the Andean city of La Oroya, which is home to the Doe Run smelting complex, the Peruvian government ordered a contingency plan for the days when air pollution is worst, as if it were dealing with a natural disaster.

[...]

The plan is the result of two years of debates involving citizen groups, non-governmental organisations and the state agencies in charge of carrying it out, as well as representatives of the company, which will provide much of the financing.

[...]

The degree of alert will be determined based on air quality and weather forecasts unfavourable to dispersal of the gases and particulates away from the city, such as lower temperatures and lack of wind. But none of the three levels entails ceasing operations at the smelting plant, [Carlos Rojas, regional coordinator of the government's national environmental council, CONAM] said.

Once a state of alert is ordered, it will be recommended that the most vulnerable -- children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with respiratory or cardiovascular illnesses -- should not be outdoors between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm local time, the worst period of the day for exposure.

Doors and windows of homes, schools and hospitals should be closed, and food sold on the street should be covered.

The population in general should cover mouth and nose with scarves and handkerchiefs when outside. The idea of facemasks was ruled out because "people don't want images that further dramatise the situation," said Rojas.

so, don't reduce the pollution, just stay inside while THIS continues...

The Doe Run complex's main chimney emits an average of 1.5 tonnes of lead and 810 tonnes of sulphur dioxide every 24 hours -- more than four times the maximum allowed under Peruvian legislation, which is 175 tonnes per day of sulphur dioxide, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

The same day that CONAM approved the plan, the level of sulphur dioxide recorded over the course of three hours was 12,000 micrograms of sulphur dioxide per cubic metre of air, when the air quality standard only allows 364 micrograms.

Tests also found 330 micrograms per cubic metre of air a composite that includes lead, cadmium and arsenic -- twice the level allowed under air quality standards.

[...]

[A]ccording to CONAM, the emission of this toxic agent is a matter of concern. If the contingency plan were CONAM already in place, a state of emergency would have been declared 183 days so far this year.

hell, they're just peasants in peru... screw 'em...

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The questionable ethics of U.S. businesses operating outside the U.S.

.
Decades of toxic emissions have robbed the nearby mountains of vegetation

i took a calculated risk while teaching my class this past weekend... i showed them the film "the corporation..." besides presenting some little-known facts about the evolution of the corporate form of business structure, the film also offers a stark and unflattering perspective of the many ethical abuses transnational corporations engage in daily, with a particular focus on their operations outside of the u.s... in a stroke of timeliness, this la times article in today's edition about doe run's smelting operation in la oroya, peru, caught my eye and i thought it would make the basis for a good post...

some years ago i had the opportunity to visit the high mountains of peru and more recently spent some time in the andean altiplano in argentina, so i've had a brief but first-hand glimpse of the vast and breathtaking beauty of that part of the world... i never saw an environmentally damaged andean area, but i have seen other, similar areas in the u.s. rocky mountains, in mexico, and in the balkans of s.e. europe...

some key points from the article illustrate the dilemma often faced by the citizens of the communities in which transnational corporations do business...

• On the twisting streets of the Old Town [La Oroya Antigua], air laced with sulfur dioxide spewing from the smokestack irritates the eyes, befouls the mouth and stings the lungs. Fine dust coats furniture and clothes, residents say.

• In 2006, the Blacksmith Institute, a New York-based environmental advocacy group, named La Oroya among the world's 10 most-polluted places, a list that includes Chernobyl, Ukraine.

• In children, a [blood-lead reading of] 10 micrograms a deciliter, is considered elevated by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials at Doe Run acknowledge that almost every child tested in the Old Town has a blood-lead reading at least double that level.

• A St. Louis University research team said La Oroya faces a "daily toxic cocktail" and labeled the situation "an environmental health crisis."

• Doe Run officials say emissions are down and have never been shown to have harmed anyone. "I am not aware of any case of serious illness that may be attributed to our La Oroya operations," said spokesman Victor Andres Belaunde. Critics say Doe Run's repeated threats to shutter the plant and leave more than 3,000 employees jobless have intimidated Peru's government.

• [M]any residents support the plant because it drives the economy. "The smelter is needed here," said Rocio Guadalupe Mejia, 31, a mother of two who heads a community group backed by Doe Run. "There would be no La Oroya without the smelter." Many here work for Doe Run, live in Doe Run-supplied housing and send their young to Doe Run-supported schools. The company logo and its green-and white colors are seen on buildings, lunch boxes and billboards.
  

and, as in so many other underdeveloped and emerging economies throughout the world, the citizens of la oroya are faced with an unfair choice - earning a living or maintaining their health...

.
(L) Men and women scrub down a street in La Oroya to wash away lead and other contaminants spewed from the smelter.
(R) Crispin Huaroc, 63, wears rubber gloves as he cleans masks used at the smelter, where he has worked for 37 years.

here's what doe run says about the la oroya operation on its la oroya web page...

The Doe Run Company acquired Metaloroya (now Doe Run Peru) in 1997 from the government-owned company, Centromin, which had operated it since 1974. Doe Run Peru operates a metallurgical complex in La Oroya, located 112 miles northeast of Lima at an altitude of 12,385 ft.

The La Oroya complex has been smelting copper since 1922 to support the Cerro de Pasco mining empire. Lead production began in 1928 and zinc production in 1952. The complex has recovered precious metals, such as gold and silver, since 1950. The complex also produces more than a dozen other by-products.

and, on the same page, here's what they say about what they're doing to help the community of la oroya...

Community Involvement

Previous operators of the La Oroya complex left a legacy of contamination which, compounded with the unstructured growth of La Oroya, has exposed its residents to environmental and health risks. Doe Run Peru is concerned with the impact the contamination has on the surrounding communities as well as the health concerns brought on by poor nutrition, lack of sanitation and clean water, and poor air quality. The company is working with local communities and government authorities to find solutions to these issues and improve the quality of life for the town’s residents.

To meet these objectives, Doe Run Peru supports the surrounding communities in implementing sustainable-development projects. The company also works extensively in the community to improve public education and healthcare infrastructure.

Doe Run Peru’s accomplishments in La Oroya over the last five years include:

* Conducting the first-ever community-wide blood lead level survey using the Centers for Disease Control protocol.
* Entering into an agreement with the Peruvian Ministry of Health, MINSA, to launch a joint effort to control blood-lead levels of 2,000 children under the age of 6 living in Old La Oroya.
* Constructing a modern medical clinic and government dining establishment that services 800 low-income individuals.
* Implementing water-collection systems in parts of La Oroya that enable treatment of storm water and sewage.
* Remodeling more than a dozen public schools, benefiting more than 2,000 students.
* Introducing a breeding program for sheep and llamas through the purchase of top-quality animals, whose offspring were donated to 12 surrounding communities. In addition, seminars were offered to 2,600 farmers covering animal husbandry and pasture improvements.
* Providing small business practices training for nearly 4,000 local women, resulting in 25 new community businesses.
* Developing a recreational center that includes soccer fields, artificial lakes, wildlife, and barbecue areas.
* Introducing a community education program to address the issue of blood lead levels in young children.

most interestingly, here's what doe run says about la oroya on its home page...

The Doe Run Company recently created a new relationship with Doe Run Peru, which has transitioned to an affiliate from a subsidiary. Both companies operate equally and independently, guided by a common vision to become global providers of premium metals and services.

note the key verbiage oh-so-innocently buried there - "transitioned to an affiliate from a subsidiary"... what does that tell you...? one, by creating doe run peru as an "affilate," doe run has built a financial liability firewall between the parent company and doe run peru... whatever financial obligations doe run peru may incur for environmental and/or health damages, doe run in st. louis will not have to dip into its corporate coffers to pay... two, by placing doe run peru in an independent "affiliate" status, it's much easier to sell...

so, in closing, who's the power and money behind doe run...?

Doe Run emerged from the old St. Joseph Lead Co., which during the Civil War purchased extensive lead deposits in Missouri. In 1994, a New York-based conglomerate, the Renco Group, acquired Doe Run. Renco's chief executive is Ira Rennert, known for his junk-bond transactions, his holdings of polluting companies and his lavish Hamptons estate.

and the renco group...?

from wikipedia...

Renco Group is a holding company controlled by Ira Rennert. It owned AM General, maker of the Hummer SUV, until a recent deal handed control to Rennert's neighbor, Ronald Perelman. Another Renco subsidiary, U.S. Magnesium, is accused of polluting the Great Salt Lake, and other Renco companies are accused of pollution in Missouri. The Renco Group owns mills and mines around the United States and in South America. Pollution problems at the company's properties have sparked public outcries, environmental lawsuits, and hundreds of millions of dollars in environmental penalties and fines.

welcome to the wonderful world of globalization...

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Making Latin America cluster bomb free

Mohamed, a cluster bomb victim

the entire WORLD should be cluster bomb free, but it's a start...

Peru's proposal to make Latin America the world's first cluster munitions-free region received broad support from the countries that took part in this week's intergovernmental conference on a future global treaty against the weapons in Lima, said local authorities.

The Wednesday through Friday meeting was a success, with 22 additional nations joining the process of drafting an international convention to ban cluster bombs, which began in February in Oslo, Norway and is to conclude in late 2008, said Peruvian Deputy Defence Minister Fabián Novak.

That brings the total number of countries involved in the process to 68. The convention would be similar to the Mine Ban Treaty, which bans anti-personnel land mines.

"We have taken sure steps towards a legal instrument aimed at protecting human beings, which would prohibit the use, production and storage of cluster munitions," Novak told IPS. "That is demonstrated by the increase in the number of nations that have adhered to the process that began in Oslo."

"At the next regional meeting, in Costa Rica, a sister country that backs Peru's proposal, we will build a consensus to turn Latin America into the first region free of cluster bombs," he said.

[...]

Cluster bombs are dropped in a canister that splits open in mid-air, scattering hundreds of soda-can-size bomblets over wide areas. The bombs can be either air-dropped or ground-launched, and are difficult to target accurately. Between five and 30 percent of the bomblets do not explode on impact, posing a risk to civilians for years to come.

cluster bombs and land mines are horrible weapons, right up there with nukes as things that only someone with a truly demented view of the world could dream up... of course they will continue to exist, but that doesn't mean they can't be forbidden and eradicated to the maximum extent possible...

unfortunately, i learned something i didn't know, and, as one who lives part-time in argentina, was distressed to find out, particularly since argentina is proposing an exception for themselves...

Argentina, one of the Latin American nations that manufactures and stores cluster bombs, backed a proposal by Australia, Finland, France and Poland to include an exception in the international convention for countries that produce bombs with a self-destruct mechanism.

The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), made up of 200 organisations pushing for a total ban, is vigorously opposed to the proposed exceptions.

Director of the Human Rights Watch Arms Division Steve Goose told IPS that trusting the self-destruct mechanisms of cluster bombs is akin to believing that it makes them less lethal, which he said is absolutely false.

and, of course, my own country could hardly be expected to support such a rational initiative...

[T]he United States, which is not taking part in the process, wants cluster bombs to be discussed within the framework of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). But during the debates in Lima, most of the participating nations rejected that proposition, arguing that the CCW is ineffective and burdened by red tape.

U.S. Nobel Peace Prize-winner Jody Williams remarked to IPS that she was not surprised that countries that produce and use cluster bombs are the very countries that are applying pressure for the question to be discussed under the CCW.

Williams, who headed up the movement that led to the signing of the Mine Ban Treaty against land mines, said that in November 2006, the countries that form part of the CCW rejected an initiative to launch negotiations aimed at banning cluster munitions.

So, she asked, "what can we expect" from that forum? Besides, noted the activist, the countries most heavily affected by cluster bombs do not form part of the CCW.

yep, "what can we expect...?" damn little, for sure...

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