STATES PARTIES TO CCW TO HEAR REPORT OF EXPERT GROUP MANDATED TO URGENTLY ADDRESS THE HUMANITARIAN IMPACT OF 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 Gancho Ganev of Bulgaria, will convene in Geneva on 25 and 26 November 2010.

The States parties are expected to consider the outcomes of the Group of Governmental Experts on cluster munitions which has been mandated by the 2009 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to “urgently address the humanitarian impact of cluster munitions, while striking a balance between military and humanitarian considerations”. The Group met twice this year (Geneva, 12-16 April and 30 August - 3 September 2010) to continue efforts at negotiations to reach an agreement on a draft protocol on cluster munitions under the guidance of its chair, Minister Jesus S. Domingo of the Philippines. A new version of the Chair’s paper containing elements of a potential instrument was produced at the end of the Group’s second session.

The States parties will also focus on the status and the implementation of the Convention, with particular focus on the compliance mechanism established by the Third Review Conference, as well as the holding of the Fourth Review Conference in 2011. The Meeting will also encourage High Contracting Parties to submit their national reports in a timely manner to further promote transparency and compliance.

The consideration of universalization through the implementation of its Plan of Action to Promote the Universality of the Convention and its annexed Protocols, and the issue of the CCW Sponsorship Programme will also be the focus of the Meeting.

The Meeting will also focus on the issue of Mines Other Than Anti-Personnel Mines, an issue that has been on the agenda of the annual meetings since the Second 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 113 States Parties. Since the 2009 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties, three States have joined: Antigua and Barbuda on 23 August 2010, the Dominican Republic on 21 June 2010 and Qatar on 20 November 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

DC10/044E