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Friday 29 August 2008
On 25-27 August 2008, Prince Mired Raad Al-Hussein of Jordan (President of the 8th Meeting of the States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty) visited Poland, one of only two remaining signatories of the Mine Ban Treaty, to urge Polish authorities to ratify the treaty without further delay and to destroy their stockpile of almost 1 million antipersonnel mines.
During his visit Prince Mired met with high officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defense. As a result of the discussions, Polish authorities announced 2012 as a new possible date of ratification, without clear explanations on how this particular date has been decided.
This is a step forward from the previously stated date of 2015. However, considering the fact that Poland has remained as a signatory for over ten years and that today there are no compelling reasons why Poland should not join the other 156 States Parties immediately, this is still not enough. The Polish Red Cross and the ICBL believe Poland is in a position to ratify the treaty and become a full member of the mine ban community by the 2nd Review Conference, scheduled to take place at the end of 2009.
Prince Mired also met with a group of foreign diplomats, led by Canadian representatives and committed to promoting the Mine Ban Treaty.
Thanks to the work of the Polish Red Cross in collaboration with the ICBL, the royal visit to Warsaw was well reflected in the national media, featuring interviews with Prince Mired in the major Polish newspapers and radio stations.
Encouraged by this step, the Polish Red Cross and ICBL will continue urging Poland to ratify the Mine Ban Treaty by the 2nd Review Conference in 2009. For this purpose the Polish Red Cross is running an on-line petition that will be handed-over to the Prime Minister.
More information on Poland in Landmine Monitor 2007
Polish Red Cross
