Daniel Craig has called for the end of “barbaric” cluster munitions, describing their use in Ukraine as “unbelievable”.

Cluster bombs release a series of smaller explosions, posing risks to civilians. They can be costly to locate and remove.

The James Bond actor is due to appear at an international conference, chaired by the UK, which will look at how they can be tackled.

Craig, who is a global advocate for the UN on mines and “explosive hazards”, will open the conference with a video message.

In it, he will say that “unbelievably, we are still seeing use of cluster munitions today, most recently in Ukraine”.

He will add: “Countries that still use and produce cluster munitions need to stop doing so. They are barbaric weapons used mainly on civilian populations to spread fear and anxiety.

“It is up to us to do the hard work, to do what we can to support each other and help civilians recover from the devastating impact of these weapons.”

Read more:
What are cluster bombs – and is Russia using them in Ukraine?

The UK holds the presidency of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international agreement ratified by 110 countries to end the use of the weapons.

Foreign Office minister Graham Stuart, who will also be attending the conference, said that “many states still refuse to give up cluster munitions”.

He added: “We will continue to speak out against these murderous weapons – as we did in March when we condemned their use in the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Since the convention was founded 14 years ago, 110 state parties have ratified it, 13 states have signed up to its objectives but not yet ratified, and 35 states have cleared their stockpiles of cluster munitions.”

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