“It is our wish to follow up our effort internationally with practical actions at home, and we have desired to start the destruction of these weapons as soon as it could be done safely and environmentally responsible” Secretary of State Espen Barth Heide says.
The destruction of the Norwegian stockpile is a consequence of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which was signed in Oslo last December.
Photo: NAMMO
The Convention was the result of a 2006 Norwegian initiative to embark on a negotiations process with the goal of banning a type of munitions which has been found to cause very serious and long term humanitarian harm. The initiative soon received wide international support, and 107 countries, the UN and related NGO’s attended when the ban was adopted in Dublin, May 2008. Norway was the first country to sign and ratify the Convention when it was opened for signing during the Oslo conference in December. Thus far the Convention has been signed by 96 countries, and a number of countries has indicated that they will sign in the near future. The Convention has been signed by 20 out of 28 NATO countries.
This March the Norwegian Department of Defence and Nammo Demil Divisjon AB entered into a contract on the destruction of the Norwegian cluster munitions stockpile. The destruction process is currently running in the Løkken plant in Trøndelag.
The Secretary of State received a guided tour in the mines, 910 meters under the surface, where the munitions were stored. Back above ground, Barth Eide was given the task of pushing the button that blew up the munitions. It is expected that the destruction process will be completed by July 2010.
“It is gratifying that Norway has the necessary competency and facilities to destroy these munitions. Considering how many countries are facing a similar process, this will be a highly sought competency nationally as well as internationally” Barth Eide says.