International Conference in Gijon, Spain, Nov 24 / 25

Another Anti-DU conference in Spain was attended by a large number of delegates, including many of the speakers who had attended the CADU Conference plus other speakers such as Ramsey Clark. It was organised by the Arab Cause Solidarity Committee in the frame of the Spanish Campaign for Lifting the Sanctions on Iraq. The Final Declaration issued at the end of the conference had the following demands:

• That munitions and military equipment made with DU be considered as NON-conventional weapons highly dangerous to the health of peoples and the environment.
• The use of munitions made with DU be considered as war crime and a crime against humanity, strongly punishable by International Law.
• Placing an International ban on the Manufacturing, Storage, Marketing, Possession, testing and Using of DU munitions and all types of military equipment made with DU.
• The destruction of all types of munitions and military equipment made with DU, putting the waste into safe storage.
• The decontamination of areas polluted through the use of DU munitions and equipment both near places of manufacturing and testing of DU and in battle fields where it has been used, in particular the Gulf and the Balkan regions, specifically in Iraq and Yugoslavia.
• That the International community provides technical and health assistance both to Iraq and Yugoslavia. This assistance is meant to help all those affected by contamination resulting from the use of DU munitions.
• That the U.S. and British Governments, and all other NATO members provide full details of the use of these munitions so that they can be removed. These countries are held responsible for the dire consequences of the use of these weapons and therefor should bear the responsibility of cleaning the polluted areas and providing full compensation for all the damages resulting from their aggressions against Iraq and Yugoslavia.
• The immediate and complete lifting of the Sanctions imposed on Iraq in order that the people and the government of Iraq can face the dire consequences of the massive use of these weapons during the 1991 aggression, and the repeated aggressions still being waged daily until now in the so called ‘No Fly Zones'.
• The commitment of the UN Secretary General to take the appropriate measures so that the International organization immediately take steps to carefully analyze the effects on health and the environment of the use of DU armaments, based on the accumulated evidences of the past few years. Also to take the necessary measures to prohibit the use of these weapons.

We finally declare our full solidarity and support to those persons affected by the use of DU weapons in Iraq and Yugoslavia and all those affected by them including war veterans. We also extend our solidarity to the Palestinan people.
Xixón, 26th of November 2000

Unfortunately due to work commitments, Cat Euler who was representing CADU at the conference was unable to attend, but we hope to have a fuller report from Ray Bristow in the next issue of CADU News