IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES CONTINUE TO BE FOCUS OF STATES PARTIES TO CCW AMENDED PROTOCOL II ON MINES, BOOBY-TRAPS AND OTHER EXPLOSIVE DEVICES

The Twelfth Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II will commence its work on 24 November 2010 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The one-day Conference will be chaired by Ambassador Germán Mundaraín Hernández of Venezuela as President, who will be assisted by three vice-presidents representing China, Germany and Romania.

The Conference this year will address two major issues dedicated to reinvigorate the implementation of the Protocol. First, the issue on improvised explosive devices in all its aspects has generated valuable discussion in the CCW context since last year. Improvised explosive devices pose a significant threat to civilian population, military forces, and infrastructure, and also hamper socioeconomic development in many regions. Secondly, the Conference will review the operation and status of the Protocol; consider matters arising from the annual national reporting by States parties, as well as development of technologies to protect civilians against indiscriminate effects of mines.

The Group of Experts established by the Tenth Annual Conference in 2008 provided a forum for substantive discussions on the two main issues led by two separate Coordinators representing Switzerland and Morocco, respectively. The Group’s work this year (19-20 April 2010) prepared the groundwork for the Conference.

The Conference will also focus its efforts on promoting the universality of Amended Protocol II. Two more States have recently consented to be bound by the instrument since last year’s Conference, raising the total number of States Parties to the Protocol to 95.

The Conference is expected to consider the reports and recommendations of the Coordinators on the issues under their respective responsibility. The Conference is also expected to take a decision on future work taking into account the important findings of the Group of Experts. An appeal by the States parties to promote wider adherence to the Protocol is likely to be adopted as it has been the practice for many years.

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

Background

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 adopted was negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations in 1979 and 1980, and subsequently was adopted in 1980 containing three protocols prohibiting the use of weapons that employ fragments not detectable in the human body by X-ray (Protocol I); regulating the use of landmines, booby-traps and similar devices (Protocol II); and limiting the use of incendiary weapons (Protocol III). The original Protocol II was amended on 3 May 1996 at the First Review Conference of the States Parties to the Convention, thus it became the Amended Protocol II. The number of States that have notified the Depository of their consent to be bound by Amended Protocol II rose from 45 at the time of the First Annual Conference in 1999 to the current total of 95 States. Gabon (22 September 2010) and the Dominican Republic (22 June 2010) are the latest addition to the Protocol.

The Conference will be followed by the 2010 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention to be held on 25 and 26 November 2010 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva.

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

For use of the information media; not an official record

DC10/043E