CCW THIRD REVIEW CONFERENCE ADOPTS FINAL DECLARATION AND AGREES TO CONVENE FOLLOW-UP WORK IN 2007

The Third Review Conference of States Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, presided by Ambassador François Rivasseau of France, concluded successfully on Friday, 17 November 2006 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Ambassador Rivasseau was assisted by Friends of the President, who also chaired the meetings of the two Main Committees of the Conference established to address all substantive items: Ambassador Edvardas Borisovas of Lithuania on Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) and Ambassador Carlos Antonio da Rocha Paranhos of Brazil on Mines Other Than Anti-Personnel Mines. Ambassador Jayant Prasad of India was appointed to chair the proceedings of the Drafting Committee of the Conference. Ambassador Gordan Markotić of Croatia, assisted as Friend of the President on matters pertaining to options to promote compliance with the Convention and its annexed Protocols, and presided over the work of the Credentials Committee. The Conference also elected ten Vice-Presidents, four Vice-Chairs of the Committees, three members of the Credentials Committee and established a General Committee, comprising all the above office holders, including the President, totalling 22 members altogether.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations conveyed a message to the Conference, which was delivered by Mr. Tim Caughley, Director of the Department for Disarmament Affairs (Geneva Branch) in which he called for strong legal commitments on mines other than anti-personnel mines and for a freeze on the use of cluster munitions.

In compliance with a heavy working programme and following intensive consultations, at the last day of the Conference the States Parties adopted its Final Declaration, which holds all the decisions on a number of substantive items taken by the Conference. It also contains a review of the scope and operation of the Convention and its annexed Protocols, and the consideration of proposals related to the Convention or to its Protocols. Other proposals for additional Protocols to the Convention, including a decision on future activities related to the strengthening of the Convention and its Protocols annexed thereto, were also part and parcel of the Final Declaration.

During the course of the Conference the States Parties addressed several substantive items, in particular: explosive remnants of war, including the issue of cluster munitions; mines other than anti-personnel mines; laser systems; the possibility to establish a sponsorship programme under the Convention; options to promote compliance with the Convention and its protocols; efforts to promote universality of the Convention and its annexed protocols.

The Conference decided to convene, as a matter of urgency, an intersessional meeting of governmental experts: to consider further the application and implementation of existing international humanitarian law to specific munitions that may cause explosive remnants or war, with particular focus on cluster munitions, including the factors affecting their reliability and their technical and design characteristics, with a view to minimizing the humanitarian impact of the use of these munitions. This meeting of governmental experts will, inter alia, consider the results of the meeting of experts on cluster munitions to be held by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and will report to the next meeting of the High Contracting Parties. The meetings of Military and Technical Experts of the Group of Governmental Experts shall continue their technical work and provide further advice, as required.

The Conference also decided to dedicate up to two days to the issue of Mines Other Than Anti-Personnel Mines during the next Meeting of the High Contracting Parties in 2007.

A compliance mechanism applicable to the Convention and all its Protocols was established by the Conference. In accordance with paragraph 2 of the Decision, as contained in Annex B of the Final Declaration, the United Nations Secretary-General was requested to convene a Meeting of the High Contracting Parties in 2007.

The Conference recommended that the United Nations Secretary-General and the President of the Third Review Conference, on behalf of the States Parties, exercise their authority to achieve the goal of universality of the Convention and its annexed Protocols. To this effect, the States Parties reaffirmed their request to the President of the Conference to report to the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly on his endeavours.

The Conference established a Sponsorship Programme within the framework of the Convention, as contained in Annex D of the Final Declaration.

The Conference also decided to organize activities related to the Convention, which will be held at Geneva in 2007, as follows:

· Preparatory Committee for the first Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War on 18 June 2007;
· Group of Governmental Experts, including the continuation of the Meetings of Military and Technical Experts on Explosive Remnants of War from 19 to 22 June 2007;
· First Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War on 5 November 2007;
· Ninth Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Amended Protocol II on 6 November 2007; and
· Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention with up to one day on the issue of Compliance; up to two days on the issue of Mines Other Than Anti-Personnel Mines; and up to two days for a general meting of the High Contracting Parties, including up to one day on the report of the Group of Governmental Experts, under the overall responsibility of the Chairperson-designate of the Meeting of the High Contracting Parties from 7 to 13 November 2007.

The Conference appointed Ambassador Jānis Kārkliņš of Latvia as Chairperson-designate of the Group of Governmental Experts. A representative of the Western European and Others Group will be nominated as Chairperson-designate of the Meeting of the High Contracting Parties.

On 13th November, the States parties celebrated the entry into force of Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War, at which a message of the Secretary-General of the United Nations was delivered and a Declaration to mark the occasion was adopted. The Protocol provides for post-conflict remedial measures of a generic nature in order to minimize the risks and effects of ERW, as well as generic preventive measures for improving the reliability of munitions and minimizing the occurrence of ERW. At the closure of the Conference, it was noted that 27 States have so far notified the Secretary-General of the United Nations, as depositary of the Convention, of their consent to be bound by the Protocol: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Holy See, Hungary, India, Ireland, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan and Ukraine. The instrument was negotiated by the Group of Governmental Experts and adopted by the States Parties on 28 November 2003. It entered into force on 12 November 2006.

Preceding the Third Review Conference, the Eighth Annual Conference of the States Parties to the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices (Amended Protocol II) annexed to the Convention was held on 6 November at the same venue. Presided by Ambassador Tomáš Husák of the Czech Republic, the Conference successfully concluded its work by adopting its final report and issued an appeal to promote universal adherence to the Protocol. Aside from the consideration of matters arising from the national annual reports submitted by the States Parties, the Conference addressed the matter concerning the deferral of the implementation of detectability and self-destruct requirements for anti-personnel mines, as permitted by the Protocol for up to nine years. Since the termination of the permissible deferral period falls on 3 December 2007, the States Parties considered it important to address this issue at the Conference. Six countries have declared at the time of consent to be bound by the Protocol that they would defer implementation of these standards. The Ninth Annual Conference of the States Parties to Amended Protocol II would be held at Geneva on 6 November 2007. The Conference will be presided by a representative of Jordan, who will be assisted by representatives of China, Slovakia, and Switzerland as Vice-Presidents.

The full title of the treaty is 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, popularly known with its initials “CCW”. The Convention was opened for signature at New York on 10 April 1981 and entered into force on 2 December 1983. It currently has 101 States Parties. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the depositary of the Convention.

For further information pertaining to the Convention and its Third Review Conference, consult the official website of the CCW as part of the website of the United Nations Organization at Geneva (UNOG) at the following address: http://www.unog.ch/disarmament/ccw , or contact Mr. Peter Kolarov, Secretary-General of the Third Review Conference at ccw@unog.ch .