The Vatican has signed and ratified a new treaty to end the production and use of cluster bombs, and appealed to the international community to ban “this inhumane type of weapon.” Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Vatican secretary for relations with states, was one of more than 100 diplomats who signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo, Norway, December 3.

In a speech during the signing ceremony, the archbishop said the Vatican chose to sign and ratify the convention the same day in order to send “a strong political signal” to the rest of the world. The Vatican made the archbishop's remarks public December 4.

The United States and other major countries that produce cluster weapons— including Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan—have not signed it. The United States has expressed concern that a ban would restrict what it sees as the legitimate use of such weapons and has said that cluster bombs were essential to U.S. military operations.