States Parties 161 States Not Party 36
Statement given by Sara Sekkenes, Norwegian People's Aid
Thank you, Mr. President,
The Mine Action Working Group (MAWG) of the ICBL would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to both States Parties to the Convention and to civil society for the unique collaboration that has led to the unprecedented achievements in Mine Action of the last five years.
The use of AP landmines has been globally stigmatized and the transfer and sale of landmines has effectively ended. Millions of stockpiled mines have been destroyed. Landmine Monitor reports that over 1 100 km2 have been cleared. Global casualty rates have fallen in the majority of mine affected countries.
Significant progress has been made but equally significant challenges remain. Here in Nairobi, it is the specific obligation of the MAWG as of State Parties to review the progress in compliance with Article 5.
The benchmark is clear: All areas cleared within ten years. “Cleared” does not mean survey, prioritized or marked. In simple terms this means that the local communities can use the areas without fear of losing lives or limbs!
The ICBL is concerned that while the review documents show progress, there is a risk that State Parties will not meet their deadline!
While more funding could perhaps turn around that trend, we believe that within the current funding for mine action there are considerable efficiency savings to be made that should be devoted to CLEARING MINED AREAS.
However, if we truly want a mine-free world bold decisions will have to be made. It is important at this stage to listen to a field perspective from operators on achievements to date and challenges ahead.
This statement should be reviewed in the context of an ongoing and evolving political process. This should be viewed in parallel to other equally important obligations such as the requirement to provide genuine and broad-based assistance to the victims of landmines.
But before handing over to Mr. Willoughby from HALO I have a short comment on the action plan.
The Action Plan shows strength. We are particularly happy with the attention paid to our suggestions delivered at the last informal preparation meeting and urge States Parties to maintain this strength.
One comment previously submitted and stated that perhaps may have been overlooked, though, would be the importance of any new mine action technology to be locally appropriate as well as sustainable.
Thank you.
Sara Sekkenes Norwegian People's Aid30 November 2004
