LES HAUTES PARTIES CONTRACTANTES À LA CONVENTION SUR CERTAINES ARMES CLASSIQUES DÉCIDENT DE POURSUIVRE LEURS NÉGOCIATIONS SUR LES SOUS-MUNITIONS (en anglais)

The 2009 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), chaired by Ambassador Babacar Carlos Mbaye of Senegal, concluded its two-day event on 13 November 2009.

The United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, in his message to the Meeting which was delivered by the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Sergio Duarte, urged States parties to strengthen the protection of civilians from the inhumane and indiscriminate impact of cluster munitions and to be guided by the high standards embodied in the new Convention on Cluster Munitions. He also reminded States to ratify the other relevant treaties in this field including the Mine Ban Convention and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Of the many important issues discussed, cluster munitions remained central to the work of the Meeting. A new mandate was granted to the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) for 2010. Amid mounting international pressure for the CCW to quickly deal with the problem of cluster munitions, States parties finally reached consensus to renew the negotiating mandate. Cluster munitions has been under consideration in the CCW since its 2006 Review Conference which mandated a GGE to consider cluster munitions in all its aspects, followed by negotiations in five 2008 sessions, and two sessions this year (February and April) with one extra informal meeting held from 17 to 21 August 2009. Parties to the CCW comprise States that stockpile, produce, and use cluster munitions, as well as affected States, hence attaining equilibrium between the humanitarian considerations and the national security requirements is the core of efforts in this regard.

The report of the Group was delivered by the Chair of the Meetings of Military and Technical Experts, Navy Capt. Juarez Roberto Carlos of Argentina, on behalf of Mr. Gustavo Ainchil of Argentina as Chairperson of the GGE. The Meeting took note of the report on the negotiations in the Group, including the Chair’s consolidated text titled “Draft Protocol on Cluster Munitions”, and decided that:

“The Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) will continue its negotiations, informed by the Chairperson’s consolidated text dated 26 August 2009 Document CCW/MSP/2009/WP.1 titled “Draft Protocol on Cluster Munitions”, and taking into account document CCW/GGE/2009-II/2, Annex I Titled “Cluster Munitions”, and other past, present and future proposals by delegations, to address urgently the humanitarian impact of cluster munitions, while striking a balance between military and humanitarian considerations.

The GGE will conclude its negotiations as rapidly as possible and report to the next meeting of the High Contracting Parties.

The work of the GGE will be supported by experts on issues relevant to the negotiations.

The GGE will meet from 12 – 16 April 2010 and from 30 August to 3 September 2010.”

The Meeting emphasized the importance of ensuring adequate support for the implementation of the CCW that would secure the continuity and stability of the professional services provided to the States in assisting their implementation of the Convention and its Protocols. In this regard, the Meeting decided to establish a CCW Implementation Support Unit, while noting that the increased work relating to the CCW and its Protocols could benefit from a strengthened UNODA Geneva Branch.

The Meeting also considered the implementation of the Plan of Action to Promote the Universality of the Convention and its annexed Protocols, along with the issue on the CCW Sponsorship Programme. The States parties welcomed the two states that have recently joined the Convention, namely Kazakhstan on 8 July 2009 and the United Arab Emirates on 26 February 2009.

The functioning of the CCW Sponsorship Programme, which has been implemented for the third year, was reviewed. As reported by the Coordinator of the Programme’s Steering Committee, Mr. Pieter van Donkersgoed of the Netherlands, delegates from mostly the least-developed countries and those that are affected by mines and explosive remnants of war have been sponsored to participate in the CCW meetings. There was a general understanding among participants to continue the support to the Sponsorship Programme, whose primary objective is to promote the universality of the Convention. France was among the donor countries to announce its intention to make another financial contribution to the Programme next year. Other donors since the programme’s inception include Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, India, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the European Commission.

As for the issue on Compliance, for which a specific mechanism was established by the 2006 Third Review Conference, the Meeting encouraged the High Contracting Parties to submit on an annual basis national reports in order to promote transparency and compliance. Submission of national reports was set at 1st October of each year. This year 28 States parties submitted national annual compliance reports.

Furthermore, the Meeting expressed the desire to maintain the issue on Mines Other Than Anti-Personnel Mines (MOTAPM) on the agenda of the 2010 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties. Efforts on this front had been dealt with since the 2001 Second Review Conference and future work on this issue would be done under the responsibility of the Chairperson-designate.

The High Contracting Parties designated Ambassador Gancho Ganev of Bulgaria to preside over the Meeting of the High Contracting Parties in 2010, and the work of the Group of Governmental Experts next year will be chaired by Minister Jesus S. Domingo of the Philippines.

Finally, the Meeting took a decision on the dates and duration of CCW activities in 2010 as follows:
· First 2010 Session of the GGE: 12 – 16 April;
· Second 2010 Session of the GGE: 30 August – 3 September;
· Group of Experts of the High Contracting Parties to Amended Protocol II: 19 – 20 April;
· Meeting of Experts of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V: 21 – 23 April;
· Fourth Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V: 22 – 23 November;
· Twelfth Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Amended Protocol II: 24 November;
· Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention: 25 – 26 November.

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) was opened for signature at New York on 10 April 1981 and entered into force on 2 December 1983. It currently has 110 States Parties, with a further 5 having signed but not yet ratified. 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 as part of the website of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) at: http://www.unog.ch/ccw .


For use of the information media; not an official record

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