The Convention requires each State party to report to the Secretary-General of the United Nations as soon as practicable, and in any event not later than 180 days after the entry into force of this Convention for that State party (art. 7.1). The Convention also requires that the information provided in accordance with article 7 shall be updated by the States parties annually, covering the last calendar year, and reported to the Secretary-General of the United Nations not later than 30 April of each year (art. 7.2).
In addition to reports on national implementation measures (art. 9) and mines retained and transferred in accordance with article 3, much of that which States parties must report on relates to the implementation of measures to address the humanitarian impact of anti-personnel mines. This information is of potential value in facilitating cooperation and assistance. Therefore, it is in the interest of all States parties to ensure that the reporting rate is high and that the full potential of the reports is taken advantage of.
This theme was discussed throughout the 2001-2002 Intersessional Work Programme, where the relationship between article 7 reporting and implementation of the Convention was highlighted. It was noted that the process of assistance and cooperation could be enhanced if there was a clearer indication of challenges, plans, progress and needs of mine-affected countries, as well as the contributions and resources of State parties. It was also noted that article 7 has a key role in providing important humanitarian information needed to ensure that the matching of needs and resources occurs. The article 7 reporting rate stands now at around 80 per cent.
The challenges identified with respect to article 7 reporting relate to finding ways both to increase the reporting rate and to ensure that the information contained in the reports can be used effectively in the cooperative process to facilitate implementation.
At the 31 May 2002 meeting of the Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, the Coordinator of the article 7 Contact Group presented a paper which served as a basis for discussion on these matters. Several delegations welcomed the elements included in the non-paper and noted the importance of article 7 reporting, not only as a Convention obligation, but also as an important tool to measure progress in the implementation of the Convention and for mine-affected States parties to communicate their needs to other States parties.
The purpose of this paper is to consolidate the ideas made with respect to article 7 reporting during 2001-2002 with a view to putting forward suggestions that may be used by States parties to assist them in increasing the reporting rate and ensuring that the information contained in the reports can be used effectively.[a]
Through the work of the article 7 Contact Group, the development of a reporting guide by VERTIC with the support of the Government of Belgium and the input of several States parties and the ICBL, and reminders being sent to States parties, a great deal has been done to encourage timely reporting. However, the annual nature of article 7 reporting means that awareness of this obligation must constantly be promoted. In this regard, the President of the Meeting of the States parties as well as the United Nations should continue to remind States parties of upcoming reporting deadlines. The President of the MSP and the coordinator of the article 7 Contact Group should also continue to promote tools developed to assist States parties in preparing reports.
States parties are not required to report on anything more than what is prescribed by article 7 (although States parties are encouraged to volunteer information in Form J). However, simply providing the location of mined areas and details on the types of the mines in these areas means forgoing the opportunity to take full advantage of the article 7 reporting as a State party’s official voice in communicating with other States parties on broader implementation matters. States parties may wish to use the opportunity to provide “supplementary information” in the article 7 reporting format. For example, States parties may find it in their interest to use this portion of the reporting format to provide: (a) an overview of the impact of the mine problem; (b) plans to address the problem; (c) progress made; and, (d) assistance requirements. In addition, States parties may wish to consider how to maximize the opportunity to provide “supplementary information” with respect to stockpile destruction.
Providing such information could help facilitate cooperative efforts to assist in implementation: More and better information could provide a better basis for effective action. In a similar sense, making more effective use of this information could provide a greater incentive to report on a timely basis. (Note: These suggestions do not imply a change in the reporting format. Rather what is being suggested is that States parties, if they wish to do so, may take greater advantage of the existing format. If States parties find reporting such matters too difficult or confusing, they could seek assistance in a manner consistent with article 6.1 of the Convention.)
The Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) has been or will be deployed in over a dozen States parties affected by anti-personnel mines. The IMSMA is designed to serve as a first-rate database and mine action decision-making support tool. In this regard, where it has been deployed, the IMSMA may be of assistance in facilitating the provision of information on matters such as the impact of mined areas and progress in addressing this impact.
While reporting on matters related to the provision of care, rehabilitation and reintegration of landmine survivors is not required under article 7, the potential to do so exists through Form J. To date, Form J has been used to indicate resources dedicated to the problem.
However, Form J also can serve as an important voice for States parties in elaborating challenges in meeting the needs of landmine survivors, plans to address these challenges, progress made and requirements for assistance. In this regard, States parties may wish to note the discussions within the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration on how affected States parties could make use of Form J as well as the set of questions distributed by the Co-Chairs at the January 2002 meeting.
For States parties without stockpiled AP mines or mined areas, completing article 7 reports is an easy process that must, however, be undertaken on an annual basis. The process for these States parties and their national authorities could be made easier - and could lead to an increased reporting rate - if States parties added a cover sheet when submitting their reports.
At the First Meeting of the States Parties, standard reporting formats were adopted in order to ease reporting requirements, to promote comparability, and to facilitate the circulation of reports by the United Nations. This approach, proposed by Austria, is both efficient and cost-effective. In this same spirit, if on a voluntary basis States parties submitted a cover page like the proposed attached sample (see Appendix), States parties could simply indicate if information was unchanged relative to the previous year’s forms.
The concept for the cover page is as follows: the reporting format is comprised of 10 individual forms (A to J). Each form contains specific data and information that might change from year to year, that might remain unchanged over several reporting periods or that is not applicable because the reported activity has ceased or never existed. Instead of submitting year after year empty non-applicable forms or repeatedly unchanged information and data, States parties could simply indicate on a cover page if information was unchanged relative to the previous year’s report. Forms that do not contain any data or remain unchanged would not have to be submitted. In other words, only those forms within which there was new information will be submitted.
States parties are reminded that, thanks to the support of the United Nations Department of Disarmament Affairs (DDA), reports provided under article 7 can be found on the Internet at the following site: http://disarmament.un.org/MineBan.nsf.
States parties are also advised to submit their report by e-mail to the officer
responsible of the DDA, Ms. Tamara Malinova (e-mail: malinova@un.org;
tel: + 212 963 81 99) and to confirm officially by fax (+ 212 963 11 21) or by note verbale to the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs when reports are submitted.
Article 7 remains an important Convention obligation in terms of providing transparency in implementation. However, article 7 reporting can be viewed as more than a transparency mechanism in that it can be, in its current form and using its current format, a tool for mine-affected States to draw donors’ attention to their needs with a view to facilitating cooperation and assistance. In addition, to ensure a high rate of reporting by all States parties, mechanisms like a cover page and assistance that could be provided by IMSMA may be useful.
NAME OF STATE [PARTY]: ___________________________________
REPORTING PERIOD: ____________ to _______________
(dd/mm/yyyy) (dd/mm/yyyy)
complement to submitting detailed forms adopted at the First and Second Meetings of the States parties in instances when the information to be provided in some of the forms in an annual report is the same as it would be in past reports. That is, when using the cover page, only forms within which there is new information would need to be submitted.
2. The cover page could be used as a substitute for submitting detailed forms adopted at the First and Second Meetings of the States parties only if all of the information to be provided in an annual report is the same as in past reports.
3. If an indication is made on the cover sheet that the information to be provided with respect to a particular form would be unchanged in relationship to a previous year’s form, the date of submission of the previous form should be clearly indicated.
[a] Note: These ideas do not suggest that the reporting format needs to be amended or that changes to the article itself should be contemplated.
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