- Frequently Asked Questions -
The Fourth Meeting of States Parties (4MSP) to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty will be held 16-20 September 2002 in Geneva, Switzerland at the United Nations Palais des Nations - UN Headquarters in Geneva. The opening ceremony will be held at 15:00 on 16 September in the Assembly Hall, or "Salle des Assemblees". The official meeting will begin immediately following the opening ceremony. From 17-20 September the meeting will be held in Room XIX (Building E, Door 40). The President-Designate of the 4MSP is Ambassador Jean Lint of Belgium, and Executive-Secretary is Mr. Enrique Roman-Morey of the United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs. Ambassador Christian Faessler of Switzerland will serve as Secretary General for coordination of opening ceremonies and all side events. The 4MSP is one of the most important landmine events of the year 2002.
The Meetings of States Parties are key annual gatherings of all of the major players in the mine ban and effort to address this crisis, including States Parties, observers, NGOs, UN agencies and other international organizations. This year an expected 500 diplomats, landmine survivors, deminers and activists will participate in the Meeting. Over 100 governments are eligible for full voting status at the conference and up to 50 are expected as observers; the International Committee of the Red Cross, UN agencies and others will also take part.
Article 11 of the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (the Mine Ban Treaty) stipulates that annual meetings of states parties shall be convened by the United Nations Secretary General until the first Review Conference of the Convention in 2004. The Convention says, "The States Parties shall meet regularly in order to consider any matter with regard to the application or implementation of this Convention.The annual meetings provide an important impetus to assess progress and further the goals of the ban movement."
The Mine Ban Treaty is the international agreement that bans antipersonnel landmines. Sometimes referred to as the Ottawa Convention, it is officially titled: the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction.
The treaty is the most comprehensive international instrument for ridding the world of the scourge of mines and deals with everything from mine use, production and trade, to victim assistance, mine clearance and stockpile destruction.
In December 1997 a total of 122 governments signed the treaty in Ottawa, Canada. In September the following year, Burkina Faso was the 40 th country to ratify, triggering entry into force six months later; thus, in March 1999 the treaty became binding under international law, and did so more quickly than any treaty of its kind in history. Today, the treaty is still open for ratification by signatories and for accession by those that did not sign before March 1999.
Of the 143 states that have joined the treaty, a total of 125 have ratified or acceded, at the time of writing. Another 18 have signed but not yet ratified. A total of 52 countries remain outside of the treaty entirely and these include China, Egypt, Finland, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia and the United States.
States Parties are countries for which the Mine Ban Treaty has entered into force. The convention entered into force 1 March 1999 for the first 40 nations that ratified, making it the most rapidly ratified treaty of its kind in history. Thereafter, the convention enters into force for a country six months after it has deposited its instrument of ratification or accession with the United Nations Secretary General. A signatory is a country which has signed the treaty, but not yet ratified. Those who signed the treaty before it entered into force 1 March 1999 must still ratify it to become full States Parties. Now that the treaty has entered into force, countries may no longer sign it, rather they may become bound without signature through a one step procedure known as accession.
As in the previous Meetings of States Parties, the ICBL has official observer status to the 4MSP and will participate in the Meeting in full. We will have a large delegation of approximately 100 survivors, deminers, campaigners and landmine monitor researchers from more than 60 countries around the world. Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams of the ICBL will speak in the opening ceremony with other dignitaries, including Swiss President K. Villiger and HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium. The ICBL will make a formal speech to delegates at the beginning of the 4MSP and will make numerous presentations and interventions throughout the various working sessions of the Meeting.
In addition to launching the Landmine Monitor Report 2002: Toward a Mine-Free World , the ICBL will hold briefings, exhibits, and media events throughout the week, and we will schedule lobbying meetings with various delegations. Raising the Voices survivors' leadership training program participants from Africa will take part in the 4MSP. There will be an exhibit of photographs from Afghanistan by John Rodsted and other exhibits. The Non-State Actors Working Group, in partnership with Geneva Call, will organize a roundtable discussion on "Engaging Non-State Actors in a Landmine Ban". Handicap International Switzerland will organize an exhibit of cartoons on landmines published since 1992, which will include an exhibit in the city of Geneva as well as in the Palais des Nations. The Swiss Campaign to Ban Landmines will orgnize other awareness-raising events in the city.
We will use the occasion to address the progress made to date, both regionally and internationally. We will also use this important opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of universalization and implementation of this treaty and the continued government-civil society partnership.
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Draft Provisional Agenda (pdf document - 49KB) Draft Programme of Work (pdf document - 63KB) Draft Rules of Procedure (pdf document - 67KB) Draft Cost Estimates (pdf document - 44KB) |
The participants will first elect a new president, then they will have an opportunity to present statements during the ‘General Exchange of Views’ and then they will review the work of the four Standing Committees established at the previous Meetings of the States Parties as part of the Intersessional Work Programme. They will then set plans for future work and adopt a final declaration as well as a work programme. In addition, they will set the date and location of the next Meeting of States Parties.
The First Meeting of States Parties (FMSP) was held in Maputo, Mozambique 3-7 May 1999. The FMSP was held in Mozambique, a mine-affected country in one of the most mine-affected regions in the world. This was a significant step in the movement to ban antipersonnel landmines and in the process of treaty implementation. It succeeded in drawing the world’s attention to the landmines crisis. In Maputo an Intersessional work programme was established and has continued meeting and working throughout the two years since, in between the Meetings of States Parties. See the SCE homepage at the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining website.
See our FMSP resource page for more information.
The Second Meeting of States Parties (SMSP) to the Mine Ban Treaty was held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 11-15 September 2000. The ICBL participated in the meeting with an official delegation of nineteen people; additionally, 162 ICBL campaigners, researchers, deminers and survivors from fifty-three countries attended. It was organized around the theme ‘Every Minute Counts’.
The ICBL viewed the SMSP as a very successful event on the road to a mine-free world. In focusing governments, the UN agencies and NGOs on the mine issue, once again, the work advanced. For example, there were six ratifications and accessions in the week before the SMSP, and a total of thirteen ratifications and accessions in the three months leading up to the meeting.
The ICBL capitalized on the SMSP, and the months of preparation for it, to refocus its own energies. During the course of the week, campaigners held bilateral meetings with more than sixty governments, both in the Palais and in embassies and missions around Geneva. The ICBL addressed various sessions of the SMSP, held media briefings, and the ICBL and the Swiss Campaign and other NGOs based in Geneva organized numerous awareness-raising events including exhibits in the Palais des Nations as well as in the town.
The Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) was held in Managua, Nicaragua 18-21 September 2001. Despite the tragic events of 11 September, the meeting took place and was indeed a successful one. 97 ICBL campaigners and LM researchers from 42 countries participated. Throughout the week ICBL members participated in daily morning briefings, as well as briefings for delegates and media. ICBL working groups and regional groups took advantage of the meeting to organize their own strategy and working meetings. Campaigners also had bilateral meetings with numerous governments. The ICBL spoke on many occassions throughout the 3MSP, including remarks by ICBL Ambassador Jody Williams, the ICBL statement delivered by Steve Goose during the general exchange of views, and numerous interventions from the floor. ICBL also held a media briefing with Foreign Minister Francisco Aguirre Sacasa of Nicaragua, President of the conference.
The ICBL has issued an Action Alert for Universalization encouraging you to do all you can to urge maximum ratifications by the time of the 4MSP in September. We have identified 12 countries we are targetting for universalization and urge you to help. Last year at the 3MSP the ICBL called for 120 ratifications by the 3MSP in Managua, and met our target! There are currently 125, yet our target this year is 135 so we have many more to go!
Think about what you, your colleagues, organization or campaign can do to ensure that we use this opportunity to increase the number of States Parties to the Treaty. Write, call, and meet officials from embassies of the countries who have not yet ratified. Use the sample letters provided in the Action Alert for Universalization.
Landmine Monitor 2002: Toward a Mine-Free World, the third annual Landmine Monitor report, will be launched 13 September simultaneously around the world. Coordinate with campaigners and Landmine Monitor researchers in your country and work together to organize launches, public events and publicity for the launch and 4MSP.
110 Maryland Ave NE, Box 6, Suite 509, Washington, DC 20002 USA
Tel:+1 202 547 2667 Fax: +1 202 547 2687
Email jackie@icbl.org or media@icbl.org for media contacts
For ICBL members participating in the conference please find registration forms and logistical information HERE.
Mr. Enrique Roman-Morey
Executive Secretary of the Fourth Meeting of the
States Parties
Department for Disarmament Affairs (Geneva Branch)
Palais
des Nations
Avenue de la Paix 8-14
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 00 34