WEAPONS EXPERTS ON TRACK TO REACH AGREEMENT ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS

International efforts to address the humanitarian challenges posed by cluster munitions received an additional boost this week. The Group of Governmental Experts to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons concluded its second 2008 Session today at the Palais des Nations. In a productive atmosphere of increasing activity and engagement, the weeklong meeting succeeded in building political momentum and laying the foundation for further negotiations at its next meeting in July.

The Group was chaired by Ambassador Bent Wigotski of Denmark. During the session, the work of the Group of Governmental Experts centered on meetings of its Military, Legal, and Technical Experts conducted under the chairmanship of Major General Lars Fynbo of Denmark, as well as intensive consultations by three Friends of the Chair: Ryuichi Hirano of Japan, on International Humanitarian Law, Markus Reiterer of Austria, on Victim Assistance, and Craig Maclachlan of Australia, on Cooperation and Assistance. In total, 72 States Parties, 3 signatory States, 22 observer States and 10 non-governmental organizations took part in the meeting.

In the course of 8 meetings of the Military, Legal and Technical Experts, delegates took part in an exchange of views on the topics of implementation of International Humanitarian Law; technical aspects of cluster munitions; types of cluster munitions that may cause particular humanitarian harm; victim assistance, cooperation and assistance; definitions, stockpile management, and transfers. The group also benefitted from two presentations on new technologies provided by Textron Defense Systems and Instalaza S.A. as well as a presentation on victim assistance by Dr. Ken Rutherford of the Landmine Survivors Network.

Noteworthy progress was made in the area of International Humanitarian Law implementation through auxiliary informal open-ended meetings and bilateral consultations carried out by Japan in its capacity as Friend of the Chair. The efforts resulted in Draft Elements on International Humanitarian Law and Draft Elements of Best Practice Guide. Considerable progress was also made thanks to the efforts of the Austrian Friend of the Chair on victim assistance – the humanitarian core of the future proposal. Another Friend of the Chair, Australia, produced a food-for-thought paper on International Cooperation and Assistance. The results of the consultations led by the three Friends of the Chair are annexed to the procedural report adopted by the Group of Governmental Experts at its final meeting and will serve as a basis for its work when it meets again in Geneva from 7 to 25 July to conduct the main portion of its negotiations on a new proposal.

The humanitarian impact of cluster munitions has been discussed within 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 since 2001, first - under a broader theme of explosive remnants of war, and since last year – as the main item of the agenda of the Group of Governmental Experts. In particular, the Group is entrusted to “negotiate a proposal to address urgently the humanitarian impact of cluster munitions, while striking a balance between military and humanitarian considerations.”

The 1980 Convention was opened for signature at New York on 10 April 1981 and entered into force on 2 December 1983. It currently has 105 States Parties, and six countries have signed but not yet ratified the Convention. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the depositary of the Convention.