STATES PARTIES TO CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS CONVENTION TO TAKE A DECISION ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS

The Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (CCW), which will be chaired by Ambassador Babacar Carlos M’baye of Senegal, will convene in Geneva on 12 and 13 November 2009.

The States Parties are expected to consider the report of the Group of Governmental Experts on cluster munitions. The Group met twice this year (Geneva, 16-20 February and 14-17 April 2009) to continue efforts to reach an agreement under the guidance of its chair, Mr. Gustavo Ainchil of Argentina.

The States Parties will focus on the status and the implementation of the Convention, with particular focus on the compliance mechanism established by the 2006 CCW Review Conference, as well as the holding of the next Fourth CCW Review Conference in 2011.

The consideration of the implementation of the Plan of Action to Promote the Universality of the Convention and its annexed Protocols, and the implementation of the CCW Sponsorship Programme will also be taken up at the Meeting.

The Meeting will also continue its consideration of ensuring adequate support for the implementation of the CCW, which in turn would secure the continuity and stability of the professional services provided to the States Parties in assisting their implementation of the Convention and its Protocols. Last year the Meeting decided to defer the decision on this matter to the 2009 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties.

Moreover, the Meeting will also consider the issue on Mines Other Than Anti-Personnel Mines. This issue has been in the agenda of the annual meetings since the review conference in 2001.


Background

The 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (CCW) was opened for signature at New York on 10 April 1981 and entered into force on 2 December 1983.

The Convention currently has 110 States Parties. Since the 2008 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties, two States have joined: Kazakhstan on 8 July 2009 and the United Arab Emirates 26 February 2009. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the depositary of the Convention.

For more information pertaining to the CCW, consult the official website of the CCW at: http://www.unog.ch.ccw


For use of the information media; not an official record

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