We Won on Cluster Bombs! December 26th, 2007 |
During
the past five years, your grassroots advocacy has played a key role in
affecting some important policy developments.For example: * In
2004, we worked with friendly Senate offices to help block a resolution
condemning the International Court of Justice for ruling that * In
2006, we formed an unprecedented coalition of more than 400 U.S.-based
organizations to advocate against the imposition of sanctions against
Palestinian civilians after Hamas’ legislative win.The final version of the so-called
Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act stripped out the draconian sanctions that we
protested against so effectively. Because
our victories on Capitol Hill are few and far between, however, it’s important
for us to take time to celebrate them and to reaffirm the power of our collective
action to change policy even if our ultimate goal is still far away. That’s
why we’re thrilled to let you know that after one and a half years of
advocating for the restriction of the export of cluster bombs, we’ve achieved
our goal! Today
President Bush signed the Omnibus Appropriations Bill for FY2008, which
included the Foreign Operations Bill.Section 646(b) of the Foreign Operations Bill reads: “During
the current fiscal year, no military assistance shall be furnished for cluster
munitions, no defense export license for cluster munitions may be issued, and
no cluster munitions or cluster munitions technology shall be sold or
transferred, unless-
Ever
since We’ve
participated in days of action, encouraged our Congressional District
Coordinators to form delegations to meet with their Members of Congress to
discuss this issue, and on June 11—one day after our mobilization on Capitol
Hill protesting 40 years of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian West Bank,
East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip—we sent more than 300 citizens from 30 states to
Capitol Hill to lobby in person on this and other issues. Our
collective efforts have paid off and we’re thrilled that the |