ICBL Overview and Assessment of the Fourth Meeting of States Parties

(Friday 08 November 2002 Washington DC) The Fourth Meeting of States Parties (4MSP) to the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition on the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and On Their Destruction – also known as the Mine Ban Treaty – was held in Geneva, Switzerland from 16-20 September 2002. This is the ICBL's assessment of this important event.

The 4MSP was a powerful demonstration of the inexorable march toward a mine-free world, with the political will and the determination to ensure effective implementation remaining steadfast among all actors. This was reflected in part by the ever-growing number of countries committing to the Mine Ban Treaty. Afghanistan acceded the week before the meeting started, Cameroon and Comoros formally joined during the course of the meeting, and Gambia came on board the week after. States Parties and the ICBL were also able to welcome Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Suriname as new treaty members since the last Meeting of States Parties. The ICBL noted the importance of Afghanistan, Angola, and the DRC fully embracing the Mine Ban Treaty, since all three are heavily mine-affected and all three have used antipersonnel mines in the recent past.

As of 31 October 2001, there were 129 States Parties and another 16 signatories to the Mine Ban Treaty. The Central African Republic brought a copy of its instrument of accession to the 4MSP, but it still has not been formally deposited with the United Nations. During the 4MSP, a number of governments made statements indicating their desire to ratify or accede in the near future, including Belarus, Burundi, Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Turkey and Ukraine.

The 4MSP was the most widely attended Meeting of States Parties to date, with participation by 131 countries. This included the most States Parties (94) and non-States Parties (37) yet. The non-States Parties attending included 11 signatories and 26 non-signatories. The ICBL participated as an official observer delegation, as did the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), United Nations agencies, the European Commission, and the Organization of American States. In total, more than 700 individuals attended the 4MSP. The level of participation and the clear acceptance even by many non-States Parties of the desirability of and need for a comprehensive global ban were strong indicators of the growing international norm against antipersonnel mines.

Prior to the 4MSP, the ICBL had expressed concerns about the difficulties in sustaining the political and financial commitments necessary to eradicate antipersonnel mines. The ICBL had also stressed the importance of meeting the looming Mine Ban Treaty deadlines for stockpile destruction and mine clearance. It is noteworthy that States Parties focused on and responded to these issues throughout the weeklong meeting. In the strongly worded Final Declaration, States Parties “reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the total eradication of antipersonnel mines…. We deplore any use of anti-personnel mines… [and] particularly call upon the States outside of the Convention which have recently used antipersonnel mines and/or continue to produce to stop these activities…. We recognize that to achieve the promise of this unique and important humanitarian instrument, we must continue working tirelessly in all parts of the world to end the use of antipersonnel mines, to destroy stockpiles, to cease development, production and transfers of these weapons, to clear mined areas to free land from its bondage, to assist victims to reclaim their lives with dignity and to prevent new victims.”

There was increasing recognition and discussion of the difficulties many States Parties will have in meeting the ten-year deadline for mine clearance, and the need for increased funding for and other assistance to mine-affected States. The President’s Action Programme stated, “We must work quickly to ensure that we know the extent of the problem, establish and support national mine action programs, develop national plans which take into account the Convention’s 10-year time frame, identify technical and financial needs and ensure that progress is effectively measured.”

In response to concerns about mine action funding, Norway’s initiative to establish a Resource Mobilization Contact Group was widely welcomed by States Parties. A number of donors publicly stated their commitment to on-going funding (including Australia, European Union, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway), though few pledged concrete amounts for specific periods of time.

There was a strong focus on the necessity of meeting the four-year stockpile destruction deadline, and the need for States Parties to identify, encourage and assist those who might have difficulties. The Stockpile Destruction Contact Group held its first meeting during the 4MSP. The first four-year deadlines occur in March 2003, and numerous States Parties have deadlines throughout 2003 and early 2004. The ICBL expressed concerns about Djibouti, Qatar, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The outgoing President of the 3MSP, Nicaragua, was congratulated for completing its stockpile destruction shortly before the 4MSP and Croatia announced they would be completing their destruction on 23 October 2002.

There was serious discussion of preparations for the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty, to be held in 2004. The President of the 4MSP, Ambassador Jean Lint of Belgium, was given a mandate to begin preparations over the course of the next year. The ICBL welcomes this forward-looking approach and is pleased to be part of the discussions.

The ICBL has increasingly devoted attention to the need to engage Non-State Actors (NSAs) in the landmine ban, and both NSAs and governments have been responding positively. Building on language that first appeared last year, States Parties said in this year’s Final Declaration, “We urge all non-State actors to cease and renounce the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines according to the principles and norms of International Humanitarian Law.” During the 4MSP, the ICBL NSA Working Group and the Geneva Call sponsored a two-hour panel discussion at the United Nations with NSA representatives from Sudan, the Philippines, and northern Iraq (Kurdistan), and government representatives from Sudan, the Philippines and the European Parliament.

The 4MSP was also characterized by high profile attention to landmine survivors and victim assistance issues. The opening ceremony featured a moving presentation by landmine survivors. Nobel Peace Laureate and ICBL Ambassador Jody Williams also set the tone in her remarks to the opening plenary session when she reminded delegates, “The landmine movement is not about eliminating landmines just to eliminate a weapon. It was started as a humanitarian proposition to deal with human lives devastated for decades after the end of war by a weapon that happens to be a landmine.” She challenged governments “to work even more vigorously to address the significant gap between the hope offered to landmine survivors through the successes of the ban movement and the words of the Mine Ban Treaty and the realities of too many of their lives in too many countries around the world.”

A total of 14 landmine survivors from Africa participated in deliberations throughout the 4MSP, as part of the “Raising the Voices” initiative by the Landmine Survivors Network on behalf of the ICBL’s Working Group on Victim Assistance. States Parties agreed on the need for a targeted and focused Consultative Process to identify what the intersessional Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration could do to concretely address the needs of survivors and identify the means of ensuring that States Parties meet their obligation to assist them.

On practical matters, the ICBL strongly supported and was very pleased with the selection of Ambassador Jean Lint of Belgium as the President of the 4MSP, and with the selection of Bangkok, Thailand as the location of the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September 2003. Belgium was the first country to enact a domestic ban on antipersonnel mines, and has been deeply involved in all aspects of the intersessional work program; the ICBL has worked very closely with Ambassador Lint for many years, and praised his tenure as Co-Chair of the Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention. Thailand’s offer to host the 5MSP was especially welcome for a number of reasons, including the importance of meeting regularly in a mine-affected country, the valuable political role that Thailand has played in promoting the Mine Ban Treaty, and the need to intensify universalization efforts in the Asian region.

The ICBL also welcomed the new Co-Rapporteurs for the intersessional Standing Committees: Cambodia and Japan for Mine Clearance; Australia and Croatia for Victim Assistance; Guatemala and Italy for Stockpile Destruction; and Mexico and the Netherlands for General Status. ICBL welcomed the establishment this year of the much-needed and very effective Implementation Support Unit (ISU) at the GICHD and will continue to work closely with the States Parties Coordinating Committee, as well as the ISU during the coming year.

ICBL Activities at the 4MSP

As part of preparations for the 4MSP, the ICBL called on all signatories, particularly targeting 12 of them, to ratify the treaty by the opening of the meeting. The ICBL sent letters to the governments of each country and issued an Action Alert for campaigners and the public, urging them to write letters, meet with government officials and take other actions to encourage these and all states to join the other two-thirds of the world in embracing a global mine ban. ICBL members also prepared for the 4MSP by contacting their own government delegations to ensure full participation in the meeting and engaged in media outreach to draw attention to the upcoming event.

4MSP preparations coincided with the 13 September launch of Landmine Monitor Report 2002: Toward a Mine-Free World. A global release briefing was held in Geneva and Landmine Monitor Reports were distributed to all Geneva-based missions and all 4MSP participants. Over 10 countries worldwide hosted release events.

143 ICBL campaigners and researchers representing 59 countries participated in the 4MSP. Upon arrival in Geneva they attended an ICBL introductory and orientation meeting to plan and prepare ICBL participation in the week’s events. Throughout the week, campaigners participated in morning briefings where they reported back on events and planned upcoming participation in the meeting. In addition to the official 4MSP meetings the ICBL also took the opportunity to hold numerous regional and thematic meetings and meet with government delegations. ICBL participants also achieved their goal of meeting with every government delegation present at the meeting.

The ICBL generated considerable press coverage in both local and international media, including articles on most major wire services and print, radio and television coverage worldwide. A press statement cautioning governments about the possible use of mines in military operations in Iraq was issued and ICBL press briefings were held jointly with the 4MSP President at the opening and conclusion of the meeting. Many campaigners briefed their national media representatives in Geneva, as well as media in their countries of work.

As in previous years, the ICBL issued statements and made interventions throughout the meeting. Two Raising the Voices participants spoke at the opening ceremony about their experiences and the hopes of landmine survivors worldwide. ICBL Ambassador and 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Co-Laureate, Jody Williams, delivered a statement at the 4MSP’s opening session. Chair of the ICBL Treaty Working Group and Head of delegation, Steve Goose, delivered the ICBL’s statement to the 4MSP during the General Exchange of Views. The ICBL statement highlighted the significant progress made during the past five years, as detailed in the Landmine Monitor Report 2002. The statement also detailed ICBL concerns regarding implementation and compliance with the Mine Ban Treaty and the emerging international norm. It ended by saying that sustained political will and funding for humanitarian mine action will be required to meet the significant challenges remaining to comprehensively implement the Mine Ban Treaty.

Bob Eaton of the Survey Action Center made a presentation during the 4MSP informal consultations on behalf of the Mine Action Working Group, emphasizing the strategies that must be employed to meet the 10 year Treaty deadline for mine clearance, including increased coordination between mine action practitioners, the importance of landmine impact surveys and the necessity for strategic, transparent and long-term funding. Stan Brabant of Handicap International Belgium delivered a statement from the Mine Risk Education Sub-Working Group, stressing the need for standardization of Mine Risk Education initiatives, integration with other mine action activities and the importance of program monitoring and evaluation. Raising the Voices participants made a presentation on the Raising the Voices program and their various country initiatives during the informal consultations on Victim Assistance.

In recognition of the increasingly important issue of mine use by non-state actors (NSAs) the ICBL’s Non-State Actor Working Group and the Geneva Call sponsored a roundtable discussion on NSAs. The roundtable aimed to promote States awareness of the importance of engaging NSAs to reach the goals of universalization and implementation of the mine ban; inform on and discuss the strategies, approaches and progress in engaging NSAs; and, encourage States and NSAs to support the efforts made by the ICBL NSA Working Group and Geneva Call to engage NSAs in a landmine ban. Approximately 90 individuals, representing campaigns, governments, UN agencies and International Organizations attended this event, which heard presentations from both government and NSA representatives from the Philippines and the Sudan, an NSA representative from Northern Iraq (Kurdistan) and the European Parliament.

Other side events held during the 4MSP included an information session on National Implementation Measures for the Mine Ban Treaty. The Information Session was the first in a series of meetings to help facilitate exchange of experience amongst States Parties on the issue of national implementation measures, as required in Article 9. There were inputs by governments and NGO representatives from countries where national legislation has already been adopted, followed by discussion and comments by participants from countries where this aspect of the treaty implementation is still underway.

The Swiss Campaign to Ban Landmines welcomed participants to Geneva with mines-themed flags on buses, posters and postcards. In addition, the Swiss Campaign held Tapis Roulant, where meeting participants and Geneva residents took “steps toward a mine-free future” on treadmills located throughout the city. Handicap International opened its Mine Toons exhibition during the 4MSP. The exhibition is a collection of 69 political cartoons and drawings from around the world, documenting the history of the mine ban movement. Australian photographer John Rodsted showed his new exhibition Clearing the Path to Peace at the United Nations. Photos for the exhibition were taken during July- September 2002 in Afghanistan.

Throughout the week campaigners stressed the importance of universalizing the Treaty and ensuring that all States fully live up to their Treaty obligations. The conclusion of the 4MSP marked two years until the Mine Ban Treaty’s first Review Conference, which will be held in 2004. ICBL’s significant participation in the 4MSP clearly demonstrated the ICBL’s continued commitment to working for a landmine-free world as we move towards this important milestone.