Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-02-12-Speech-3-216"
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"en.20030212.7.3-216"2
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"Mr President, on the eve of a potential conflict in Iraq – one that we hope can still be avoided – a debate on the use of anti-personnel mines and depleted uranium ammunition is of great topical interest. After all it has been found that soldiers and civilians who came into contact with depleted uranium ammunition in earlier military conflicts, such as the Gulf War in 1991 and in Kosovo, later experienced serious health problems, what we call Gulf War sickness or Balkan syndrome. They suffer from memory loss, chronic pain and fatigue, symptoms of paralysis and have an increased risk of cancer. United Nations statistics, published in the renowned 'British Medical Journal', indicate that the incidence of cancer in southern Iraq increased sevenfold between 1989 and 1994. Even the US Army Environmental Policy Institute has acknowledged the potentially very serious medical consequences of the use of depleted uranium.
Weapons and ammunition that harm the civilian population are in contravention of the Geneva Convention and the Convention on Conventional Weapons. The second Convention is very explicit. It imposes a prohibition or restriction on the use of certain conventional weapons that are deemed to cause excessive injury or that do not discriminate between military and civilian targets. According to information leaked from the Pentagon, about 3 000 guided bombs were fired in the first wave of attacks in Iraq. It seems very likely that the US will use ammunition with depleted uranium again. Parliament must continue to warn of the potential dangers of the use of this type of ammunition. There is an urgent need for an independent, scientific study of the effects of its use, not only on health but also on the environment. We must have a moratorium on the use of depleted uranium while we wait for the results of such a study.
The European Union must play a pioneering role in this, just as it did in the campaign for a worldwide ban on antipersonnel mines, as was laid down in the Ottawa Convention. And my questions, Mr President, concern that Convention, its ratification and application. To be very explicit, I wanted to ask the Council exactly what actions are planned to ensure that as many Member States and candidate countries as possible sign this Convention. You will understand that I would really like to hear from the current President-in-Office of the Council why Greece is actually waiting before signing this important Convention. Finally, in anticipation of hopefully being able to avoid a possible international conflict, I urge the Council to make a clear statement guaranteeing that the Member States of the European Union will not use weapons that are banned under international law or are deemed to be illegal in this or any future armed conflict."@en1
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