5MSP Daily Update 3

(Wednesday 17 September 2003 Bangkok, Thailand)

Full reports and statements:

• Official report on today’s proceedings
• ICBL general statement to the meeting

General statements continued on Wednesday morning as fourteen countries (Cambodia, Angola, Croatia, DR Congo, Lithuania, Guyana, Belarus, Burundi, Indonesia, Laos, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Turkey, and Republic of Congo) and four organizations (UNMAS, GICHD, OAS and the ICBL) spoke.

In the afternoon, the meeting reviewed the General Status and Operation of the Convention. This included discussion on universalization, and resource mobilization, as well as reports on the Intersessional Work Programme, the Coordinating Committee of States Parties, the Implementation Support Unit, and the Sponsorship Programme.

Issues relating to Article 1 (interpretation of ‘assist’) and Article 2 (antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes and antihandling devices) were also addressed before the meeting adjourned with a view to continuing on General Status the next day.

Key discussions today:

• Universalization
• Resource Mobilization
• Article 1 (interpretation of ‘assist’)
• Article 2 (antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes and antihandling devices)

Highlights for the ICBL:

• Republic of Congo’s announcement that it has completed of its stockpile destruction.
• Laos PDR participating and speaking for the first time in an annual meeting of State Parties.
• Four States Parties supporting the ICBL and ICRC’s call for States Parties to reach a common understanding on the Article 2 issues by the time of the Review Conference, including Kenya.
• Angola’s announcement that it will host a regional meeting on landmines in Luanda in May 2004.
• Switzerland’s proposal for an informal, open-ended contact group of States Parties to address the issue of Non-State Actors and the mine ban. Colombia also suggested that NSA be discussed by the Universalization Contact Group.
• Sweden’s statement that transit of antipersonnel mines for military use in armed conflict through a State Party would be prohibited.

Areas of Concern for the ICBL:

• Three States Parties (Denmark, France, and Germany) opposed discussion of Article 2 matters in the framework of the Mine Ban Treaty.

Quote of the Day:

• Belarus: “The Belarussian section of the ICBL has always been a partner. The ICBL’s Landmine Monitor is a unique civil society control mechanism.”

ICBL Interventions:

• General Statement
• Resource Mobilization
• Universalization (by Parliamentarian and by Geneva Call)
• Article 1
• Article 2