Ready for the Next Leg of the Journey?

The Tenth Meeting of the States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty (10MSP) brings us together one year after the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World -- a remarkable event that allowed us to celebrate the power of a treaty that has inspired so much dedicated effort year after year. The past year also saw record-breaking progress in implementing the Mine Ban Treaty: casualty rates are the lowest on record, while more contaminated land was cleared than ever before.

But we still face many challenges on the road to a mine-free world. The Cartagena Summit clearly demonstrated the significant amount of work that remains to be done. For example, up to 43 States Parties must still clear their land of landmines, four States Parties failed to meet their stockpile destruction deadlines and still have millions of mines to destroy, and hundreds of thousands of landmine survivors worldwide are still in need of sufficient support.

This should only inspire us to work even harder than ever. Indeed, States Parties pledged through the Cartagena Declaration that they would stay committed in the coming years, and the Cartagena Action Plan provided a set of concrete steps for States Parties to take that commitment forward in all the key areas of the treaty.

The 10MSP is the first formal occasion to measure States Parties' progress in putting the Cartagena Action Plan into place. We count on states to highlight their work on all relevant points of the plan, so that we can see how these impressive words on paper are being translated into real progress on the ground. We look forward to hearing from states about:

• Final completion date for remaining stockpiles

• Detailed information on the identification and clearance of mined areas, especially in states that are requesting or have received extensions

• An update on national victim assistance plans, including how landmine survivors are involved in designing, carrying out, and monitoring such work

• Information on international cooperation and assistance needed or provided

• Information on past and planned use of mines retained for training or development

• Overdue transparency reports

• Updates on development of national implementation measures.

As we get ready for the next leg of the journey toward a mine-free world, let's make sure we collectively keep up the same high levels of enthusiasm and motivation that have been associated with the Mine Ban Treaty since its inception. Such dynamism is essential to carrying out the daily work at the national level . efforts that must continue until all stockpiled mines are destroyed, all mined areas are cleared, and all victims enjoy the rights and economic possibilities available to all others.

We are counting on you to keep up the compassion, and keep up the energy!

We look forward to a productive Tenth Meeting of the States Parties.