4MSP Informal Information Meeting

Author/Origin: Susan Walker walker@icbl.org

(Monday 26 August 2002 ) Convened by Norway and Thailand, Co-Chairs SC-GSOC

Palais des Nations, Room XII

Geneva, 26 August 2002, 1500H

Excellencies and Dear Colleagues,

Tusen takk and Khaup khun mak ca to Norway and Thailand for organizing this meeting and to all of you for your interest in coming. Your being here today is evidence that the commitment and partnership, which made this historic process possible, remains strong and active five years later.

This is crucial because much remains to be done to consolidate and fully implement this comprehensive ban on AP mines and to continue to solidify the international norm that is taking hold. This is also of crucial importance, because there is an urgency to address this global humanitarian problem. Tragedies continue with daily reports received from around the world of innocent civilians being killed and maimed by AP mines.

I received this Landmine Incident Report from the Pakistan CBL this morning:

21 August 2002 - Habib Jan, 45, son of Mohammad Jan, village Sewai, Tehsil Mamund, Bajaur Agency lost his left leg in a landmine incident. He was working in agriculture in his field.  As a result of the explosion he also received wounds on his entire body.

The global momentum to eradicate antipersonnel mines has continued unabated, with 125 countries having ratified, an increase of 7 ratifying countries since meeting one year ago. ICBL once again commends Angola, Suriname, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Algeria, Nigeria, Chile and Eritrea for joining the Convention and stands ready to assist, as do others, in whatever way we can with your implementation of the AP Mine Ban Treaty.

The Mine Ban Convention provides a framework for achieving a MineFree World and the intersessional work programme and the annual Meetings of States Parties provide the tools to translate it into reality. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines considers the annual Meeting of States Parties to be the most important landmine event of the year and will bring more than 125 Campaigners, landmine survivors, mine clearance and victim assistance practitioners to Geneva next month. We have set up a temporary ICBL office for 4MSP preparations at UNIDIR in the Palais and ICBL would like to thank UNIDIR for their valuable cooperation and assistance. May I introduce the ICBL Programme Officer, Jackie Hansen, who can provide you with any ICBL documents should you require them to prepare for the 4MSP. [e.g. 3MSP Managua reports and other documentation on the table]

Governments will gather here in September to assess progress, as well as challenges faced with the implementation of the AP Mine Ban Treaty. The 1997 Convention and the ban movement more generally have had a major impact globally in the 3-1/2 years since the entry into force of the Convention on 1 March 1999. This will again be evident with the global release of Landmine Monitor 2002 Report on Friday, the 13^th of September. There will be launches in at least 11 countries around the world: Australia, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, France, Italy, Kenya, Norway, Poland, South Africa and Switzerland.

As you know, the Landmine Monitor initiative is an unprecedented initiative by the ICBL to monitor implementation of and compliance with the 1997 AP Mine Ban Convention, and more generally to assess the efforts of the international community to resolve the landmines problem. Landmine Monitor has a network of 115 researchers in 90 countries.

Findings for 2002, which are embargoed until the 13^th of September, are clear evidence that the Mine Ban Convention is, indeed, fast becoming an international norm and has significantly changed the overall picture of antipersonnel mines in the world.

Generally speaking, in recent years, there has been:

• Reduced use of AP mines;
• Fewer new mine victims;
• A dramatic drop in production of antipersonnel mines, with the number of producers dropping from 55 to 14 in recent years;
• An almost complete halt in trade;
• Increased destruction of stockpiled AP mines with over 34 million having been destroyed by over 61 nations and a total of 33 States parties which have completely destroyed their AP mine stockpiles;
• Sustained high levels of funding for humanitarian mine action and victim assistance; and
• More land being demined.

Last year’s LM (2001) findings indicate that 15 – 20,000 new landmine victims were reported in more than 70 countries in 2000 and 2001, with 90 countries considered mine-affected to some degree. This is 15 – 20,000 new victims too many.

ICBL urges States Parties to come to the 4MSP prepared to report on the progress in their countries in fully implementing the Convention, as well as with information on challenges they face, including existing and future needs in order to be able to fully implement the Convention. Being able to measure and show this progress will become increasingly important in the two years leading up to the first Review Conference.

ICBL also urges States Parties to come to the 4MSP prepared to share information, on, inter alia:

• “Best practices” regarding AVMs with AHDs or sensitive fuses;
• Their interpretation of Article 1, including joint operations and potential transit and stockpiling of foreign antipersonnel mines in States Parties; and
• The intended purpose and actual use of mines retained for training.

This will contribute to furthering common understandings, which will strengthen the consolidation of the Convention.

The work of the Mine Ban Treaty has always been dynamic and adapted to evolving needs, as evidenced by the establishment and consolidation of the intersessional work programme, as well as the establishment of the Coordination Committee and the Implementation Support Unit which, with Kerry Brinkert as its extraordinarily talented Manager, has proven its value in the short 8 months since the ISU began working. You have seen clear evidence of this in the extensive and excellent preparations for the intersessional meetings and the 4MSP.

The increased focus by the intersessional Standing Committees on the core humanitarian objectives of the Convention and forward, longer-term planning with a view to being able to report on progress by the Review Conference has been a significant and positive result of this year’s intersessional work. ICBL will continue to work with interested States Parties, the ICRC and others to further this progress.

USE: For obvious reasons, ICBL is most interested in halting new use. Obviously continued and even new use of AP mines is ongoing and ICBL will continue to condemn any use for any reason by anyone. The issue of how to deal with countries, which continue to use AP mines, becomes even more urgent, as we try to establish the Mine Ban Treaty as the accepted international norm regarding AP mines. ICBL continues to be proactive in this arena and we hope that many of your countries will also start or increase efforts to speak bilaterally and/or multilaterally with countries which continue to use these abhorrent weapons. On compliance matters in general, the steps taken to clarify concerns with States Parties not respecting the spirit and the letter of the Convention, prior to any Article 8 investigation being launched, are perhaps more critical than any investigation which may never, in reality, be initiated.

AP MINE STOCKPILES: Progress is being made in getting rid of APMs from global stockpiles, estimated at some 230 million antipersonnel mines stockpiled by about 94 countries (largest: China, Russia, USA, Pakistan, India and Belarus), with 41 States Parties holding about 6 million stockpiled AP mines. 84 States Parties have either completed stockpile destruction (33) or never possessed AP mines (34 / 18 no info). Another 22 States Parties are in the process of destroying them. Seventeen State Parties have not yet begun destruction and the deadline for many nations is rapidly approaching in 2003.

The INTERSESSIONAL Standing Committee meetings are a way to MARK, MEASURE AND STIMULATE PROGRESS in our mine action efforts and in achieving our objective of universalizing the Convention. Intersessional meetings have been viewed as important, forward-looking milestones resulting in concrete, measurable progress and the intersessional work programme will be come even more critical in the coming two years, as we consolidate the Convention and move closer to the Review Conference in 2004.

ICBL calls on all countries, which have not yet done so, to ratify or accede to the AP Mine Ban Treaty prior to the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva next month. We also urge States Parties to submit initial and annual Article 7 reports, not only to improve the reporting rate but, more importantly, to provide the information which can be used to measure progress and determine remaining needs, particularly for mine-affected States Parties. We urge States Parties to continue to destroy stockpiles, clear minefields and assist landmine victims; and to enact national implementing legislation.

There is an urgency to meet the treaty obligations to destroy stockpiles within 4 years and to clear minefields within 10 years. There is an urgency, as time is not on the side of those communities which live with the daily devastation of landmines.

We have a Convention that is a Framework for a MineFree World. We need the continued efforts on the part of every single person, organization and country represented in this room (and beyond) today to ensure that the momentum towards consolidation and full implementation of the Convention continues unabated. We must all redouble our efforts in order to continue to make progress toward translating those unequivocal words on paper into life-saving reality on the ground.

Susan B. Walker

ICBL Intersessional Programme Officer

Geneva, 26 August 2002