CCW PROTOCOL ON EXPLOSIVE REMNANTS OF WAR FURTHER ENHANCES IMPLEMENTATION AT FOURTH CONFERENCE

Ambassador Peter Woolcott of Australia will preside over the work of the Fourth Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which is being held on 22 and 23 November 2010 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The Conference will continue to focus on efforts to strengthen the treaty’s implementation mechanism. Topics include clearance, removal or destruction of Explosive Remnants of War; victim assistance; cooperation and assistance, including requests for assistance; recording, retaining and transmission of information; the development of a Web-based Information System for Protocol V; national reporting on the implementation of the Protocol; and generic preventive measures that could minimize the occurrence of Explosive Remnants of War. These substantive issues were discussed under separate Coordinators at the Protocol V Meeting of Experts (Geneva 21-23 April 2010) thus preparing the groundwork for the Fourth Conference. The Coordinators will report to the Conference on the results of the respective discussions. Recommendations on the way forward on each topic are expected to be formulated, which is geared to strengthen the Protocol’s implementation.

Universalization will also be a major feature of the Conference as eight more States have recently acceded to the instrument since the previous Conference, bringing the total number to 69.

All substantive decisions of the States parties as well as other procedural matters will be included in the Final Document of the Conference.

The Australian presidency will be assisted by two vice-presidents of the Conference, the representatives of Pakistan and Slovakia. They will also be supported by the Coordinators representing Lithuania, Austria, Croatia, Ireland, Hungary, Slovakia, and France, who are responsible for the substantive issues under discussion.

Background

Responding to an initiative launched by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 2000, the Protocol was negotiated by the CCW Group of Governmental Experts and subsequently adopted in 2003 by the CCW States Parties. Protocol V covers post-conflict remedial measures of a generic nature to minimize the risks and effects of explosive remnants of war. Under the Protocol, each State party and party to armed conflict shall bear the responsibility to clear explosive remnants of war or to assist in such clearance. In particular, parties to an armed conflict shall survey, mark and clear Explosive Remnants of War in areas under their control or jurisdiction after a conflict; where appropriate, provide technical, material and financial assistance for the removal of Explosive Remnants of War left by their armed forces in areas not under their control; record information on explosive or abandoned ordnance and share that information with organizations involved in clearance activities; and take all feasible precautions to protect civilians from the effects of Explosive Remnants of War, including marking and fencing off dangerous areas and warning them of the risks.

During the Third Review Conference (Geneva, 7-17 November 2006) the States Parties adopted a special Declaration to mark the Entry into Force of Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War on 12 November 2006. At the time, 26 CCW States parties have expressed their consent to be bound by the Protocol. The number of States Parties has significantly increased from 35 in 2007, to 69 as at 20 October 2010, comprising: Albania, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium (25 January 2010), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China (11 June 2010), Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus (11 March 2010), Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon (22 September 2010), Georgia, Germany, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Holy See, Honduras (17 August 2010), Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy (11 February 2010), Jamaica, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Qatar (16 November 2009), Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia (8 January 2010), Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Uruguay.

The Conferences of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V are held annually to review the status and operation of the Protocol. The informal Meetings of Experts are organized prior to the annual conferences and represent the key integral part of Protocol V’s implementation mechanism. They were established with the purpose of providing a forum for consultation and cooperation among the States parties where those in need of assistance can discuss and receive assistance from those in a position to provide such assistance. The discussion of the expert meetings are chaired by coordinators who report on their work to the annual conferences.

The Fourth Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War will be followed by the Twelfth Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Amended Protocol II, which will be held on 24 November 2010 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.


For more information, please refer to the official website of the Protocol at: http://www.unog.ch/CCW/ProtocolV


For use of the information media; not an official record

DC10/042E