Israel dropped thousands of cluster munitions during a 2006 war in Lebanon [GALLO/GETTY]
Countries from around the world have banned the use of current designs of cluster bombs in a treaty human rights workers have described as a "monumental achievement".
Factfile
Cluster bombs Delegations from 111 countries formally accepted the deal at a ceremony in Dublin, the Irish capital, on Friday after almost two weeks of negotiations.
The convention, agreed on Wednesday, requires signatories to eliminate stockpiles of cluster munitions within eight years.
Marc Garlasco, a military analyst with Human Rights Watch, said the treaty was a "monumental achievement".
Garlasco told Al Jazeera that although the US and other nations have not committed to signing the agreement, he expects the treaty will stigmatise cluster munitions and so deter those nations from using them.
"We will now see a future in which not only will these weapons not be used, but [the treaty] also provides for victim assistance as well as clearance of weapons that have been used in the past," he said.
Ban opposed
The US, along with Israel, Pakistan, China and Russia, who are among the main producers and stockpilers of the weapons, have opposed the ban.
Others have questioned whether the treaty will have any significant impact.
Al Jazeera's Hamish Macdonald reports that article 21 of the document provides logistical loop-holes.
"The article stipulates that any country which signs up to the treaty can still participate in joint operations with any nation which does not," he said.
Leila Blacking, from the International Committee of the Red Cross, said: "This was the balance between getting a treaty out that people would be prepared to sign and not having a treaty at all.
"It's been a difficult process, ten days ago we weren't even sure that we'd agree on the text that's as strong as it is today."
Even though these states have all agreed on the text, they still must go to Oslo at the end of this year and sign the actual treaty, Blacking said.
Many key countries are not participating, including the US, China, Russia and Israel, so the potential loop-holes are vast.
A third of recorded cluster munitions
casualties are children [EPA]
Cluster munitions release small "bomblets" in mid-air which spread over a large area, but many of the bombs do not detonate and remain dangerous, injuring and killing civilians after periods of conflict have ended.
The document allows the use of future cluster bombs which pick targets more precisely and contain self-destruct technology.
Norway spearheaded talks in February 2007 to end the use of the bomb.
Today, representatives of 111 countries have adopted a formal ban on . The ban is to be signed and ratified by each country during December 2-3 in , Norway, the country that initiated the discussions on the ban.

Following almost two weeks of negotiations, the ban was agreed upon at a ceremony held in , Ireland. Signatories will be required to completely get rid of cluster bomb stockpiles within eight years.

Cluster bombs are characterized by the small "bomblets" that they release while falling. Many are opposed to this type of munition because the "bomblets" spread over a large area, meaning that they can easily injure or kill innocent civilians even when aimed at a specific enemy target.

Despite U.N.  Ban Ki-moon voicing his hopes that all nations would agree to the ban, many countries have boycotted the ban, including the United States, Russia, Israel, Pakistan and India. Military analyst Marc Garlasco of the organization Human Rights Watch noted that these nations will be less likely to use the munitions due to the stigma that will be attached to them.

While widely celebrated, some criticize the pact for not being strong enough in its implications. For example, signatories will still be allowed to cooperate on military operations with non-signatories.

The ban will go into effect in mid-2009.