Daily Updates 6 & 7, 28 and 29 July

Author/Origin: Patricia Pak Poy and Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan

(Friday 16 July 2004 ) Reports from a preparatory session for the forthcoming Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World.

Second Preparatory Meeting for the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World or First Review Conference

The two-day meeting was chaired by the President-Designate for the Summit, Austrian Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch. Here are some higlights and lowlights. Help make the Nairobi Action Plan concrete and ambitious: take up our action alert!

Key discussions:

• Clarification of procedural issues for the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World (28 November 3 December 2004)
• The wording and content of the key documents for the Nairobi Summit, including the Review of Status and Operation of the Convention and the Action Plan. This is a key product of the Summit. Contributions from delegates focused largely on making the plan more action-orientated through the inclusion of more concrete goals or lists of State Parties committed to reaching goals such as stock destruction or mine clearance ahead of their treaty deadlines. See our action alert for messages and strategy on this.
• The nature, sequence and timing of future meeting was discussed in great detail.

Highlights for the ICBL:

• Recognition of ICBL and NGO contributions to all areas of work including engaging with non state actors
• Raising the priority given to victim assistance
• General support for more concrete and ambitious plans in the NairobiAction Plan.
• Many participants spoke, and numerous suggestions were provided from delegates from the floor, to be followed up by suggestions in writing by 15 July.
• Algeria, Kenya and Tajikistan asking to be added to the list of countries who have enacted national implementation measures under Article 7, in point 116 of the draft Review.

Concerns for the ICBL:

• Continued unclarity on treaty definition, compliance and good practice issues related to Articles 1, 2 and 3
• Little specific and concrete input from mine-affected states parties
• Unclear how ambitious and concrete the final Plan will be, but it's possible! We must follow up!

Quote of the days:

"What is the meaning of Western Hemisphere", representative from Chad

"I'm confused. Is this the 2nd or the 1st Preparatory Conference" [delegate, in reference to two mistyped identifications of the meeting in the document under discussion]