Diplomats from 111 nations have formally adopted a landmark treaty banning cluster bombs.

Twelve days of negotiations ended Friday after diplomats from scores of nations delivered speeches embracing the landmark accord. It requires signatories not to use cluster bombs, to destroy existing stockpiles within eight years, and to fund programs that clear old battlefields of dud bombs.

Several cluster bomb-making nations boycotted the talks, including the United States Many speakers appealed to the U.S. to sign on to the treaty.

Participants plan to sign the treaty in the Norwegian capital Oslo in December. It would go into effect in mid-2009.