REVIEW CONFERENCE ON CONVENTION ON CERTAIN CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS TO RESUME AT GENEVA, 15 TO 19 JANUARY
Press Release
DC/2538
REVIEW CONFERENCE ON CONVENTION ON CERTAIN CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS TO RESUME AT GENEVA, 15 TO 19 JANUARY
19960110 Background ReleaseGENEVA, 8 January (UN Information Service) -- The Review Conference of States 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 will resume in Geneva from 15 to 19 January. The chief focus will be the Convention's Protocol on the use of land-mines (Protocol II), which, although referred to as the "land-mines protocol", also encompasses the use of booby-traps and other devices.
During its first meeting held from 25 September to 13 October 1995 in Vienna, the Review Conference adopted "Protocol IV" banning the use and transfer of blinding laser weapons. However, despite considerable efforts by the participants at the Conference, it was impossible in the time available to reach final agreement on provisions that would further strengthen Protocol II of the Convention restricting the production, sale and use of land-mines, due to the number of new proposals and positions that were advanced.
The States parties therefore agreed to continue their work at sessions in Geneva from 15 to 19 January, and from 22 April to 3 May. The Review Conference will be chaired by its President, Johan Molander of Sweden.
Participants will include delegations from among the 50 States parties to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. Also taking part will be representatives of United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been invited to participate with a special status.
The Convention, which was concluded in 1980, entered into force on 2 December 1983. To become party to it, a State must ratify the Convention itself and two of its three Protocols. In addition to the land-mines Protocol (Protocol II), the two other protocols deal with use of non-detectable fragments (Protocol I) and incendiary weapons (Protocol III).
The Review Conference is among a series of international efforts against land-mines which included the high-level international meeting on mine
- 2 - Press Release DC/2538 10 January 1996
clearance organized in Geneva by the United Nations from 5 to 7 July 1995 to mobilize political support and funding for United Nations-coordinated mine clearance efforts and related humanitarian activities.
The principal objective of the Review Conference consists of modifying Protocol II, related to land-mines, of the 1980 Convention. At present, 110 million land-mines remain to be located and cleared in 64 countries. Not only do mines kill or maim 20,000 civilians each year, they also set back agricultural development, endanger returning refugees and cause disabling injuries, often long after conflicts have ended.
In response, governments, relief agencies and non-governmental organizations worldwide have been seeking to toughen existing international restrictions on the production, sale and use of land-mines and other weapons which strike indiscriminately. The Review Conference is widely regarded as an important step forward in efforts to stop or restrict the use of land-mines in the context of the disarmament priorities set by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in his 1995 Supplement to An Agenda for Peace. He has called the question an absolute priority, pointing out that the proliferation of anti-personnel mines "creates dramatic problems in a number of regions and endangers the lives of millions of individuals". He considers the initiative to review the treaty as a step towards the eventual elimination of all land-mines.
The proliferation of land-mines is fueled by the fact that they are easy to obtain, simple to use and frequently undetectable. They are especially used in non-international conflicts, can be scattered by the thousands and are typically not removed after the cessation of hostilities. The magnitude of the problem and the understanding that the international community can solve this problem only through coordinated action have moved the issue to the forefront of the United Nations agenda.
A number of proposals have been advanced ranging from a total ban on production and use of land-mines to changes of more limited nature in the existing treaty provisions. Attention is expected to centre on proposals to extend the scope of the treaty, which now covers only conflicts between States to internal conflicts. Other proposals would ban mines that are not easily detectable and require that mines used in military actions be self-destructing within a certain time-frame. States parties will also consider banning the use of harmless-looking objects as booby-traps.
The General Assembly in 1993 called on Member States of the United Nations, regardless of whether they are parties to the Convention's land-mines Protocol, to establish a moratorium on the export of mines; to date, more than 22 States have responded to that call by enacting total or partial temporary export bans.
- 3 - Press Release DC/2538 10 January 1996
Protocol II
Protocol II -- on the use of mines, booby-traps and other devices -- relates to the use of such devices on land, including weapons activated by remote control or automatically after a lapse of time. It does not apply to the use of anti-ship mines at sea or in inland waterways. Article 3 prohibits, in all circumstances, the use of the devices concerned against civilians, as well as their placement when not directed against a military target. The provision does not rule out the possibility of the loss of civilian life as a result of an attack on a military objective, if all feasible precautions have been taken to protect civilians.
Other provisions require the use of warning signs, sentries or fences when land-mines are used against military targets located in populated areas. The use of remotely delivered mines -- mines delivered by artillery, rocket, mortar or similar means -- is prohibited under article 5 unless they are used only against a military objective and their location can be accurately recorded, or if they are equipped with a self-neutralizing mechanism.
Article 6 prohibits the use of any booby-traps which are designed to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering. These include explosive devices which resemble harmless portable civilian objects, such as toys or kitchen utensils. Other articles spell out requirements for recording the location of mines and the mandatory disclosure of that information immediately on the cessation of hostilities, and for cooperating in mine-removal efforts.
Officers; States Parties
Johan Molander (Sweden) is the President of the Review Conference. Sohrab Kheradi, Deputy Director of the United Nations Centre for Disarmament Affairs, is its Secretary-General. The Conference also has 10 Vice-Presidents from the following States parties: Austria, China, France, India, Mexico, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Tunisia, Ukraine and the United States.
As of 1 January 1996, the following 50 States have become parties to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons: Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and Yugoslavia. Argentina, Brazil, Jordan, Romania, South Africa, Togo and Uganda have either ratified or acceded to the Convention. In accordance with the provisions of the Convention they will become parties to it only six months after the date on which they deposited their instrument of ratification or accession.
* *** *