Cluster Munitions

Disarmament family loses loved and legendary campaigner Bob Mtonga

The humanitarian disarmament community lost a legend last week. Bob Mtonga, a medical doctor and long-time activist, died in his native Zambia shortly after returning from one of countless international trips to promote the protection of civilians in armed conflict. He was just 51. Bob was a much-loved leader in the field of humanitarian disarmament, which seeks to end civilian…

“Fighting for Disarmament”: Bonnie Docherty’s work featured in Harvard Gazette

January 7, 2016

This Q & A by reporter Liz Mineo ran in the Harvard Gazette on January 3, 2015 After researching the devastating humanitarian effects of the deadly cluster munitions used in Afghanistan in 2002, Bonnie Docherty joined a worldwide campaign to eliminate them. Six years after she started her probe, cluster bombs were banned. Her investigation on the use of cluster…

After the Bombings, Boston Marathon Remains an Inspiration

The Boston Marathon has long held a special place in my heart. In an earlier life, I covered the event for three years as a reporter for the Middlesex News, now known as the MetroWest Daily News. My beat at the time encompassed two towns along the route—Hopkinton and Natick. Beyond combining a challenging assignment and a festive atmosphere, the…

Docherty’s Testimony Highlights Flaws in Canadian Bill on Cluster Munitions

October 23, 2012

Hearings continued this week in Canada on a controversial bill that would significantly weaken the international ban on cluster munitions. Senior clinical instructor Bonnie Docherty was among several weapons experts in Ottawa last week to argue that the bill, as written, would undermine the treaty, known as the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and call into question Canada’s credibility on disarmament…

Reflections on a Major Weapons Victory: Overcoming Powerful Opposition, Ban on Cluster Munitions Strengthened

December 9, 2011

“We are the voices of victims, not just diplomats. . . . If we have to pay a political price, if we can just save one single life, it is worth it. And I think we are not alone.” – Representative of Costa Rica, the Fourth Review Conference of the Convention on Conventional Weapons At precisely 7:05pm on Friday, November…

Dispatch from Geneva

November 23, 2011

Diplomats from more than 100 countries are currently engaged in heated deliberations in Geneva over a proposed protocol, put forward by the United States and others, that would allow the use of certain cluster munitions indefinitely. The International Human Rights Clinic has joined a group of nongovernmental organizations in arguing against the proposal, which would threaten the impact of an…

Demining (and Dancing) in Lebanon

September 18, 2011

Several days ago, on a sunny morning in southern Lebanon, my clinical instructor, Bonnie Docherty, and I witnessed the explosion of a submunition left from a cluster munition attack in 2006. After the blast, which happened so close to us I felt the earth move as a result of its force, I smiled broadly at Bonnie. Why was I grinning…

Challenge to Australia: Don’t Do the Bidding of the U.S. on Cluster Munitions

August 18, 2011

In a strongly worded opinion piece today in Australia’s National Times, Senior Clinical Instructor Bonnie Docherty urged the Australian Senate to take the responsible course in its implementation of the international ban on cluster munitions and push back against proposed legislation that would blunt the impact of the ban. The Senate is scheduled to debate the bill in the coming…

Coming on Monday: Weapons Experts Discuss Cluster Munitions Ban

“Banning Cluster Munitions: Challenges to Implementing a New Disarmament Treaty” April 11, 2011 12:00- 1:15 pm Pound Hall 201 Lunch will be served In August 2010, the Convention on Cluster Munitions became the most significant disarmament treaty to enter into force in a decade. The question now is: will the Convention achieve its goal of eliminating cluster munitions and the…

Pushing Australia for Stronger Weapons Ban

This morning, at 2 am, while most of us were sleeping, Bonnie Docherty testified before an Australian Senate committee—from her living room in Cambridge. Via telephone, she told the committee that Australia’s proposed legislation on implementing the Convention on Cluster Munitions falls far short of the Convention’s goal and the standards set by other countries. The Convention absolutely bans cluster…