Kuniko INOGUCHI, Ph.D.
# 541, First Members’ Office, House of Representatives
Phone +813-3508-7271

Fax +813-3508-3130

Parliamentary Forum on the Eve of the Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions
Vienna, 4 December, 2007
Kuniko INOGUCHI, Ph.D., MP
Member, House of Representatives, Japan
Member, Science Council of Japan
Madame Chair,(Introduction)
Thank you for giving me the floor. I am Kuniko Inoguchi, member of the House ofRepresentatives of Japan. I belong to the LDP, the dominant party in the ruling coalition,and it is my special pleasure to participate in this forum, since I am a former ambassadorof Japan to the Conference on Disarmament and, in the context of the CCW, I was thechief negotiator for my country for the Fifth Protocol, the Protocol on Explosive
Remnants of War.
Allow me, first of all, to congratulate you, Madame Chair, for presiding over thisparliamentary forum and to commend you for your initiative in preparing for today.
You have decided to involve parliamentarians. This is highly relevant and innovative.
I wholeheartedly appreciate the initiative to involve parliamentarians at this crucial
moment when political momentum is needed to deal with the issue of cluster munitions.
(Democracy deficit)
As global issues today require knowledge-intensive processes among states and expert
communities, it is sometimes pointed out that there is a kind of democracy deficit,
whereby people and their elected delegates find it difficult to make an input into
processes that may deeply affect citizens and taxpayers. On the other hand, it is also
often pointed out in the disarmament community that the lack of political will is themajor problem. Thus, this parliamentary forum is effectively designed at an opportune
moment to reduce the democracy deficit and increase the political will to make adifference. Parliamentarians from around the world should consolidate the political1

momentum to reduce humanitarian tragedies from the unregulated use and production ofcluster munitions. It is encouraging to see parliamentarians from nations which havetaken a leadership role in the Oslo process and CCW as well as those from affected
countries represented in the room.
(CCW and the Oslo Process)As we deal with humanitarian issues, the sense of urgency is the key. The process
initiated in Oslo in February has already made a significant impact in numerous ways
including unstated pressure to accelerate the CCW process to agree on the negotiation
mandate. The Declaration at the Oslo Conference constituted a constructive challenge
to the CCW by committing, through clause 3, to continue to address the humanitarian
challenges posed by cluster munitions within the framework of international
humanitarian law and in all relevant fora. Also, in my view, the scheduling of theVienna Conference soon after this year’s Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to theCCW has resulted in invaluable positive pressure to strive for a consensus on thenegotiation mandate and, in addition, the idea of holding this parliamentary forum in thelead up to the Vienna Conference is yet another move to exert positive pressure upon theCCW’s Group of Governmental Experts negotiation starting in January next year. As
we all know, the Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the CCW decided that theGGE will negotiate a proposal to address urgently the humanitarian impact of clustermunitions. Thus, cluster munitions processes this year have been exemplary inactivating both emerging and traditional frameworks to advance global commitment tohumanitarian issues. The Oslo process also contributed substantively in the form ofglobal awareness-raising and evolution of norms. I congratulate those who have taken
leadership roles in the process, and I also applaud my government for participating in theOslo process with competence and enthusiasm.
(Japan)Cluster munitions have indiscriminate and persistent effects due to the wide-area rangeof the weapon and the high rate of submunitions turning into explosive remnants of war.
The Japanese government and the ruling parliamentary coalition are of the view that thehumanitarian impact of cluster munitions is an important issue and must be addressed asa matter of urgency and through the most effective ways. Accordingly, we lent our full
support to the negotiation mandate agreed upon at the CCW and will participate actively
in pursuit of a balance between security and humanitarian considerations. At the sametime, we will continue to participate in the Oslo process and make useful suggestions
2with the hope that the farsighted and wholehearted emphasis on humanitarian concerns
within the Oslo process will have a positive impact on the CCW negotiations, in which
major producers and possessors of cluster munitions are engaged.
(Effects of the Oslo Process)In my personal view, there are at least four important effects and functions of the Osloprocess. First, as I remarked, it has accelerated and will continue to pressure the CCW
to urgently address the humanitarian concerns raised by cluster munitions. Second, if,
for some unexpected reason, the CCW should fail to live up to the expectations of theinternational community concerned with the humanitarian impact of cluster munitions,the international community will not simply deplore this and wait. There could bealternative initiatives.
Third, like the Ottawa process, the Oslo process will serve as an incubator of new norms
concerning cluster munitions, and as a vehicle of global awareness-raising beyond thosestates formally participating in the process. Protocol V on ERW of the CCW has
highlighted the post-conflict risks of remaining and abandoned weapons and munitions
through an effect-specific rather than a weapon-specific approach. The weapon-specificapproach of cluster munitions processes including the Oslo process is most likely tohave a strong impact on our understanding of the use of weapons and its aftermath in thelives of civilian populations including children.
Fourth, the Oslo process, with its uncompromising commitment to the humanitariancause, could have a substantive impact on the CCW to redouble efforts to address thehumanitarian aspects of the issue as the High Contracting Parties strive to strike abalance between military and humanitarian considerations.
(Suggestions)This brings me to a few suggestions concerning the future work of the Oslo Process.
First, it would be helpful to emphasize the importance of international assistance andcooperation. The affected countries need to seek and receive assistance, whereappropriate, from parties to the to-be-negotiated instrument or states non-party, relevantinternational organizations, institutions and civil society initiatives taking into accountthe humanitarian objectives of the instrument and the political processes that led to theinstrument. Also, victim assistance needs to be addressed. Not only former combatants
but also victims and survivors need to be reintegrated into the community and3

socio-economic network.
Second, intensive discussion is required on generic preventive measures and precautions
for the protection of the civilian population including warnings, risk education, marking,fencing and monitoring of territory affected by submunitons. These measures could belinked with frameworks to provide practicable recording and information on the use ortransfer of weapons that may cause humanitarian harm.
Third, it would be useful to discuss and agree on cooperative measures to provide thefullest possible exchange of technological and scientific information to minimize
post-conflict risks of munitions and submunitions to civilian populations.
Fourth, in international discussions or negotiations, it is often practical and useful to startwith elements which are most likely to be supported by the majority of participants,
notwithstanding the fact that nothing is decided until everything is decided. For thisreason, it could be useful to start with the notion of a production and transfer ban on
high-risk cluster bombs and munitions in order to urgently establish a normative
platform that unregulated use of cluster munitions is not acceptable in the global
community today. This platform should facilitate the crafting of a more comprehensive
legally-binding instrument in the near future.

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