UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (UPI) -- The United Nations confirmed that Iraq ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions, becoming the 83rd country to sign onto the treaty.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Iraq deposited its instrument of ratification to the cluster munitions treaty.
"The convention will enter into force for Iraq on Nov. 1, 2013," the depositary notification read.
Iraq signed the convention in 2009 and became the fifth country to ratify the measure this year.
The Cluster Munition Coalition reports that Iraq has the second-highest number of cluster bomb casualties in the world behind Laos. The advocacy group said it can verify 3,011 casualties as of 2011 but said the actually figure may be as high as 8,000.
Cluster bombs were used during the Gulf War in 1991. The advocacy group said U.S. and British forces used more than 10,000 cluster bombs during the 2003 invasion.
Coalition members said Iraq's ratification should send a strong message to other governments that haven't ratified the treaty prohibiting the use of cluster bombs.
"Iraq's ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions is a milestone for the treaty and a victory for advocates and survivors everywhere," Director of the Iraqi Alliance for Disability Moaffak Alkhafaji said in a statement.
