Cluster munitions are munitions consisting of a projectile known as a parent munition that transports several hundred bomblets designed to be dispersed over a wide area the size of several football pitches VIDEOGRAPHIC
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00:00Cluster Bombs are munitions consisting of a projectile known as a parent munition that
00:14transports several hundred bomblets, or cluster munitions.
00:20Dropped by aircraft or launched from the ground, cluster bombs are designed to be dispersed
00:24over a wide area the size of several football pitches.
00:30As these weapons are generally free-falling, they can strike the ground a considerable
00:33distance from the target area if they're not used correctly or if conditions are, for example,
00:39windy.
00:40In addition, not all bomblets detonate on impact.
00:43They thus become de facto anti-personnel mines, banned by the 1997 Ottawa Convention.
00:49Once after a conflict is over, they can kill dozens of people, including small children
00:54attracted by their bright colours.
00:56By signing the Oslo Convention, more than 100 countries have pledged to clear contaminated
01:02areas.
01:03A long and dangerous task.
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