Australia has endorsed a global ban on cluster munitions, but with some provisos.The Rudd government believes the time has come for the international community to address the impact of cluster munitions that cause "unacceptable harm" to people, a diplomatic conference in Dublin has heard.But the focus should be on munitions that do the most harm, and no limits should be imposed on military cooperation with nations that remain outside a convention, Australian ambassador for disarmament Caroline Millar said."Our humanitarian objective will also be best served by a clear focus on those cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm," Ms Millar said."We should adopt a discerning approach to our negotiations that focuses on these munitions, while excluding those that do not fall within this scope."Cluster munitions are typically dropped by aircraft, scattering hundreds of smaller sub-munitions designed to destroy unprotected personnel and vehicles.However, high failure rates leave thousands of these bomblets intact and able to kill and maim long after a conflict is over.To address this problem, activist groups have proposed a ban on all scattered munitions - even those designed to self-destruct after a set period.The Australian Defence Force recently acquired a quantity of artillery fired anti-tank sub-munitions which it insists should not fall under any ban.Similarly, Australia is also concerned about possible restrictions on working with non-signatory nations, particularly the United States."Cooperation, including interoperability, between nations through peace-keeping and peace-enforcement, including in operations with states that may not be party to this convention, is a fundamental pillar of international security," Ms Millar said."Australia firmly believes that we can protect this pillar, while meeting the humanitarian objective of the Oslo Process, through amendments to the draft text."The conference runs from May 19 to 30 and is being attended by representatives of 120 nations.Ms Millar says Australia is pleased to join states representing the majority of the international community in negotiations to agree on the text of a legally binding instrument.The burden of cluster munition remnants, landmines and other types of explosive war remnants had fallen heaviest on their immediate victims, their families and communities, she said."The cause of the Oslo Process will be best met by a convention that is focused sharply on its core humanitarian objective."In our deliberations here, we should be careful to ensure that this humanitarian objective remains our touchstone for action." AAP