CLUSTER MUNITIONS REMAIN THE FOCUS OF CCW AHEAD OF THE 2011 REVIEW CONFERENCE

The 2010 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 Gancho Ganev of Bulgaria, concluded its two-day event on 26 November 2010 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva.

The States Parties agreed to designate Ambassador Gancho Ganev of Bulgaria to preside over the Fourth Review Conference to be held next year. The States Parties will start preparations for the Review Conference early in the year.

Of the many important issues discussed, the negotiations on cluster munitions remained central to the work of the Meeting. The Group of Governmental Experts (GGE), which was mandated to negotiate on cluster munitions, had met twice this year and held one informal session in the summer. The Chairperson of the GGE, Minister Jesus S. Domingo of the Philippines, delivered a verbal report on the Group’s work to the Meeting. Subsequently, under the agenda item on the general exchange of views the States Parties and organizations as well as non-governmental organizations expressed their views on the cluster munitions issue within the framework of the CCW. The States Parties eventually reached consensus to renew for another year the mandate of the Group, not only focusing on a continuation of negotiations on cluster munitions, but also on the preparatory work for the Fourth Review Conference and that the Group would report on its work to the Review Conference. The agreed mandate reads as follows:

“The Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) will meet from 21 to 25 February, from 28 March to 1 April and from 22 to 26 August 2011.

The GGE will conduct preparatory work for the Fourth Review Conference under the overall responsibility of the President designate.

The Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) will continue its negotiations informed by the Chair’s Text Document CCW/GGE/2010-II/WP.2 on a draft protocol on cluster munitions, and taking into account other past, present and future proposals by delegations, with a view to making a recommendation for consideration by the Fourth Review Conference, to address urgently the humanitarian impact of cluster munitions, while striking a balance between military and humanitarian considerations. The work of the GGE will be supported by experts on relevant issues.

The GGE will report to the Fourth Review Conference.”

The work of the Group of Governmental Experts next year will continue to be chaired by Minister Jesus S. Domingo of the Philippines.

The United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, in his message to the Meeting delivered by the Deputy Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament and Director of the Geneva Branch of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Jarmo Sareva, encouraged the States Parties to continue to be guided by the fundamental humanitarian principles that are the very foundation of the Convention when addressing the horrendous impact of cluster munitions on humanitarian efforts. This, he remarked, would strengthen the Convention’s potential to address the humanitarian plight of all victims of cluster munitions and armed conflicts. The Secretary-General also welcomed the in-depth discussion on the protection of civilians in armed conflict held by the UN Security Council earlier in the week. He noted that the Council expressed its concern about the humanitarian impact of conflict, and called on parties to armed conflict “to give protection to the civilian population in accordance with applicable international humanitarian law.”

The Meeting also considered the implementation of the Plan of Action to Promote the Universality of the Convention and its annexed Protocols. The States Parties welcomed the three States that have recently joined the Convention, namely Antigua and Barbuda on 23 August 2010, Dominican Republic on 21 June 2010 and Qatar on 16 November 2010. This latest addition increases the total number to 113 States Parties to the Convention.

The States Parties also discussed the functioning of the CCW Sponsorship Programme, which was established by the Third Review Conference. There was a general understanding among participants to continue the support to the Programme, the primary objective of which is to promote the universality of the Convention. The Programme operates entirely through voluntary contributions by States. Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, India, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the European Union are donors of the Sponsorship Programme.

On the issue of Compliance, the Meeting encouraged the High Contracting Parties to submit on an annual basis national reports in order to promote transparency and compliance. This year 26 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 meetings of the High Contracting Parties.

Finally, the Meeting took a decision on the dates and duration of CCW activities for 2011 as follows:
§ First 2011 Session of the GGE: 21 to 25 February;
§ Second 2011 Session of the GGE: 28 March to 1 April;
§ Third 2011 Session of the GGE: 22 to 26 August;
§ Group of Experts of the High Contracting Parties to Amended Protocol II: 4 to 5 April;
§ Meeting of Experts of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V: 6 to 8 April;
§ Fifth Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V: 9 to 10 November;
§ Thirteenth Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Amended Protocol II: 11 November;
§ Fourth Review Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention: 14 to 25 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 113 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 information media; not an official record

DC10/046E