NAIROBISUMMIT ENDS WITH POWERFUL ACTION PLAN: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

 

RENEWS COMMITMENT TO WORLD FREE OF ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES

 

(Received from a UN Information Officer.)

NAIROBI, 3 December -- The landmark Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World has closed with the international community recommitted to ending the suffering caused by anti-personnel mines.

“The 144 members States of the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines have adopted a power action plan to guide our efforts over the next five years”, said Nairobi Summit President, Wolfgang Petritsch of Austria.  “The real work now begins.  We must implement this 70 point action plan.”

The Nairobi Summit featured a thorough review of the 1997 Ottawa Convention, with the international community remarking that incredible progress has been made since the Convention entered into force in 1999:

-- With the ratification of the Convention by Ethiopia on the first day of the Summit, 144 States have now accepted the Convention’s comprehensive ban on anti-personnel mines.

-- The Convention’s member States together have destroyed over 37 million stockpiled mines.

-- Considerable strides have been made to clear mined areas, with three Convention member States –- Costa Rica, Djibouti and Honduras –- having already completed their clearance obligations under the Convention.

-- Over $2.7 billion has been generated since 1997 to fulfil the Convention’s aims, with considerable amounts spent to assist landmine survivors.

“While great progress has been made, considerable challenges remain”, said Ambassador Petritsch.  “For example the Nairobi Action Plan records that successfully meeting the 10-year deadlines for clearing mined areas will be the most significant challenge to be addressed during the next five years.  This will require intensive efforts by mine-affected States Parties and those in a position to assist them.”

“The pursuit of universal adherence to the Convention will also remain an important priority for the international community”, said Ambassador Petritsch.  “In this regard, I am heartened by the strong message delivered by Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki to those States that have not yet joined our common effort.”

In his address to the Summit on 2 December, President Kibaki said that “each State –- no matter how big or how small, no matter how rich or how poor –- has a responsibility to protect innocent civilians from the suffering and indignity caused by (anti-personnel mines)”.

Ambassador Petritsch –- along with memberStates and civil society -– declared the Summit a resounding success.  “This Convention is an outstanding example of multilateralism working the way it should”, said Ambassador Petritsch.  “But we must ensure that it continues to do so.  We must commence immediately with implementing the Nairobi Action Plan.”

For further information, please contact:  Stephanie Power, Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention Implementation Support Unit, tel.: +254 (0)735 456 102.

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