CONVENTION ON CERTAIN CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS’ AMENDED PROTOCOL II GROUP OF EXPERTS MEETS ON 22 AUGUST AND PROTOCOL V GROUP OF EXPERTS MEETS ON 23 AUGUST

In the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), the annual Amended Protocol II Group of Experts meeting took place on 22 August, and the Protocol V Meeting of Experts on 23 August 2019.

The CCW is a key instrument of international humanitarian law seeking to ban or restrict the use of specific types of weapons that have indiscriminate effects on civilians or cause unnecessary suffering for combatants. Amended Protocol II prohibits or regulates the use of mines, booby-traps and other devices, while Protocol V addresses explosive remnants of war. The annually held Meetings of Experts are convened to facilitate the implementation of Amended Protocol II and Protocol V, to exchange information among delegations, and to consider new issues that may be of relevance for the respective Protocols.

Amended Protocol II constitutes a critical part of the international community’s response to the harm caused by mines, booby-traps and other devices. They continue to pose significant threats and cause unacceptable humanitarian harm by killing, injuring and traumatizing people and communities as well as damaging or destructing civilian objects and critical infrastructure.

The 2019 Amended Protocol II Group of Experts was chaired by Ambassador Zbigniew Czech of Poland as President-designate of the Twenty-first Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Amended Protocol II which will take place on 12 November. Discussions focused on the operation and status of the Protocol, universalization of the Protocol and discussions on Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The discussions on IEDs were led by the IED Coordinators, Colonel Pascal Levant of France and Ms. Diana Esperanza Castillo Castro of Colombia. The discussions centered around three thematic domains: current international situation regarding IEDs, with a focus on particular country cases; protecting civilians from IEDs through prevention and IED risk education; and IED threat mitigation, with a specific focus on capacities deployed and humanitarian clearance.

Protocol V on explosive remnants of war is the first multilateral agreement addressing one of the principal dangers encountered by civilian populations in the aftermath of an armed conflict. Explosive remnants of war also constitute a major impediment to post-conflict reconstruction and recovery.

The 2019 Protocol V Meeting of Experts was chaired by Ambassador Terhi Hakala of Finland as President of the Thirteenth Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V. The main issues that were addressed by the Meeting of Experts include the clearance of explosive remnants of war in urban contexts, data collection and information management in line with article 4 of the Protocol, as well as cooperation and victim assistance.

A wide array of stakeholders participated in the two meetings, including CCW High Contracting Parties, representatives of international organizations, non-governmental organizations and academia.

For more detailed information:

Click here for more information on the 2019 session of the Amended Protocol II Group of Experts.

Click here for more information on the 2019 Protocol V Meetings of Experts.

For use of the information media; not an official record

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