STATES PARTIES TO CCW AMENDED PROTOCOL II ON PROHIBITION OF MINES MEET ON 6 NOVEMBER 2006

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 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), will be held on Monday, 6 November, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The annual conference will be presided by Ambassador Tomáš Husák of the Czech Republic, as decided by the Seventh Annual Conference held last year. Three Vice-Presidents will assist him, namely Ambassador Hu Xiaodi of China, Ambassador Bernhard Brasack of Germany and Ambassador Mousa Burayzat of Jordan.

The Conference is expected to review the operation and status of the Protocol, while emphasizing the necessity for universalization of the Protocol. As has been the case in previous conferences, the States parties will again be expected to issue an appeal to promote universal adherence to Amended Protocol II.

In accordance with the provisions of Protocol, the Conference will also consider matters arising from the national annual reports submitted by States parties, containing material on the dissemination of information on Amended Protocol II to armed forces and civilian populations; mine clearance and rehabilitation programmes; steps taken to meet the technical requirements of the Protocol; legislation related to the Protocol; international cooperation and assistance and other relevant matters.

At the suggestion of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Conference is also expected to address the issue of deferral of the implementation of detectability and self-destruct requirements for anti-personnel mines, as permitted by the Protocol for up to 9 years. The end of the permissible deferral period falls on 3 December 2007 - one year after the Third CCW Review Conference. Six countries have declared at the time of consent to be bound by the Protocol that they would defer implementation of these standards.

Protocol II was amended on 3 May 1996 at the First Review Conference of the States Parties to the CCW. 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 number of 86. For more information, please consult the new official website of the CCW within the website of the United Nations Organization at Geneva at the following address: http://www.unog.ch/disarmament/ .