Defend International voices growing concern over the desperate state of a group of 194 Iranian Kurds, including a large number of children, who are living in a camp in No Man’s Land on the Iraqi-Jordanian border for the past three and a half years without access to adequate food, nutrition medical or proper hygiene.

Over 100 states have decided to probibit the use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of inaccurate and unrelibale cluster munitions. The signing of the Convention on Cluster Munitions took place in Oslo from 2-4 December 2008. Cluster Munition Coalition, Defend International and civil society organisations around the world called on high-level representatives to personally sign the treaty in Oslo.

“The irresponsible transfer of conventional arms around the planet has destroyed millions of lives and livelihoods, and seriously violated the fundamental human rights of many more… Even today in some countries, such as parts of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, when you drop your children off at school on your way to work in the morning, you cannot feel sure that all of you will still be alive at dinnertime,” said Dr. Widad addressing the UN First Committee on Disarmament and International Security.

On the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, DI and its member organisations call on citizens around the wrold to take action to end executions in the MENA region. Between January 2005 and September 2008, the following states had executed 32 juvenile offenders.