Intersessional Daily Update 3

Author/Origin: Sara Sekkenes sekkenes@icbl.org

(Wednesday 05 February 2003 Geneva, Switzerland) Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Awareness and Related Technologies of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction.

Co-Chairs; Belgium and Kenya

Co-Rapporteurs; Japan & Cambodia

General status on MA and MRE

Item 1: Opening statement by Co-Chair on status of SP

36 SPs have reported to the SC that they have mined areas; Albania, Argentina, BiH, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo-Brazzaville, Croatia, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Jordan, Macedonia of FYR, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, UK, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

10 more countries are likely to be mine affected but have not yet submitted their art.7 reports; Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Cyprus, DRC, Eritrea, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Sierra Leone

Costa Rica – first country to complete obligations under Art. 5, i.e. complete mine clearance of all mined areas.

25 countries have a deadline by 2009.

Item 2: Opening intervention by ICBL - MAWG

See intervention.

See LM Fact Sheet (PDF)

Item 3: statement by UNMAS

Presentation of new reporting template as a result of the above statement by ICBL. Will be tested in three countries to be announced. To help mine affected countries to develop national strategic plans and donor countries making informed decisions.

Item 4: statement by UNDP

53 countries have UN supported MA activities, 10 new programs; Afghanistan, DRC, Sudan, Burundi, Lebanon, Vietnam, Angola, Sri Lanka, Ukraine.

Ongoing Landmine Impact Survey; Ethiopia, Eritrea, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Somalia, BiH

Planned for; Angola, Afghanistan

UNDP together with GICHD is conducting a study into national legislation in order to provide guidance for legal frameworks in mine affected countries.

Key Challenges: 1) resource mobilisation, 2) integrate mine action into development agenda, 3) strategic planning in longterm prospective, 4) emergency response, 5) further strengthening the MACs.

Interventions and presentations by mine affected countries

Item 5: Presentations can be found at the GICHD website. Countries presenting;

Albania, BiH, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Jordan, Libya (non – SP), Ethiopia (sing.), Honduras, Malawi, Thailand, Mozambique, Albania, Zambia, Chad, Tajikistan, Angola, Afghanistan, Niger, Peru, Tunisia, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador (still claims not affected). (Please contact Janecke Wille for further details on each statement).

Item 6: Presentation by Cambodia; Status, progress and challenges by Sam Botha.

Item 7: Presentation by LAUK on the Sudan landmine Information and Response Initiative – SLIRI – the first cross line indigenous MA programme

Item 8: Presentation by Sudan Integrated Mine Action System – SIMAS working on mines and UXO in southern Sudan.

Item 9: follow-up intervention by Stan Brabant – HI Belgium. Looking at village demining in Cambodia; are we really responding to the needs of the mine-affected populations? See presentation for further details.

Presentation on Assistance by those in position to do so

Item 10; by France on MA support programme. See GICHD website for ppt presentation. Japan, Italy on funding for 2003.

Item 11: presentation by UNICEF on MA integration and MA operations. See GICHD for statement.

Item 12: Presentation by JMU on MA experiences in the Global MA registry. See maic.jmu.edu/gmar

Item 13: Presentation by GICHD on IMSMA version 3.0 new!! , IMAS 4 new standards related to dogs recently approved, IMAS 2003 to be issued in early March. MRE study presented, legislation study ongoing.

Item 14: New Zeeland, Japan and ICBL (thanking Germany for support in 2002 and mine affected countries for their presentations).

Mine action technologies

Item 15: presentation by ITEP –International Test and Evaluation Programme. See ppt. presentation on GICHD website.

Summary of M Cl, M Aw and Rel. Tech.

Co-chair thanked all for presentation on the impact of landmines and the plans to address the problem by mine affected countries and priorities for assistance. Important notice that the mine affected countries show ownership of the problem and solutions of the same.

Task to consider for the May intersessionals;

1. mine affected SP that did not speak, that they do so in May,
2. that those in position to provide assistance should address those demonstrated today.

Once again: Congratulations to Costa Rica as the first mine affected stated to complete the obligations under Art. 5 in becoming the first mine free country.

Comments: Unfortunately no time was given for spontaneous comments from the floor or comments on presentations given due to large number of preannounced interventions.