REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON REVISION, FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL MINE ACTION STANDARDS IN LIMA

REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON REVISION, FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION

OF INTERNATIONAL MINE ACTION STANDARDS IN LIMA

LIMA, 30 May (UN Information Centre) -- On 31 May and 1 June, representatives of countries from Latin America and the Caribbean gathered in Lima to discuss the revision and future implementation of International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).  This technical workshop is organized by the United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development (UN-LiREC) and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), with the support of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Government of Peru.

The issue of landmines has gained greater importance since 1997 when the “Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and on Their Destruction” opened for signature.  Today,

140 countries have signed the Convention and 116 have ratified it.  According to studies of the United Nations and other organizations, landmines have been left scattered in more than 50 countries, which kill or injure thousands of people every year.

The workshop entitled “Revision and Future Implementation of International Mine Action Standards”, is taking place at a time when the issue of antipersonnel mines is gaining increasing attention from the international community, taking into account the threat that antipersonnel mines present to the sustainable development of countries.

The objective of the workshop is to discuss and explore the practical application of the proposed IMAS standards and guidelines; identify further changes which may be needed; assist national mine action authorities to develop (and if necessary amend) their own national standards and standard operation procedures to reflect the requirements of IMAS; and to develop a broad consensus for IMAS at a political, as well as technical level.

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