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Conference on Disarmament hears statements on fifth anniversary of Mine-Ban Convention.

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M2 PRESSWIRE-27 February 2004-UN: Conference on Disarmament hears statements on fifth anniversary of Mine-Ban Convention(C)1994-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:02262004

GENEVA, (UN Information Service) -- The Conference on Disarmament this morning heard a series of statements marking the fifth anniversary of the Mine-Ban Convention on 1 March and expressing aspirations for the First Review Conference of the Convention which, will be held in Kenya at the end of the year.

Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch of Austria, speaking as the President-designate of the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World which would be taking place from 29 November to 3 December 2004 in the capital of Kenya, said the biggest challenge for the Nairobi Summit would be to secure the necessary political and financial commitment to continue to eliminate the humanitarian impact of anti-personnel mines.

Mr. Petritsch said that after officials from India and Pakistan had announced that their countries had established a "basic road map" for a constructive dialogue to promote progress towards peace, security and economic developments, the time might be ripe for the two countries to also take a fresh look at the global ban of anti-personnel mines. As President-designate of the Nairobi Summit, he wished to encourage India and Pakistan, as well as other States not party to the Convention, to accede to the treaty.

Norway said that the Mine-Ban Convention proved that multilateralism worked. However, notwithstanding the success, considerable work still remained to be done to fulfil the objective of the Convention: a world free of mines.

Canada said the fifth anniversary of the Ottawa Convention would be celebrated in Canada during the Canadian awareness week for anti-personnel mines. The representative noted that the goal remained the universality of the Convention. The central message of the First Review Conference would be that progress had been made, but that more needed to be done.

The Netherlands joined the speakers in calling on the countries which had so far not been in a position to join the treaty to do so, adding that the terrible humanitarian suffering caused by anti-personnel landmines far outweighed any military gains, and that was very important to realize.

The United Kingdom said his country continued to fully support the Convention and looked forward to participating in the Nairobi Summit. He also drew the attention of the Conference to a statement on counter-proliferation made by the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, to the House of Commons yesterday morning.

Japan said that major challenges still confronted the Convention, first and foremost, the need for the norms established by the treaty to be further universalized.

Another challenge was to mobilize resources necessary for mine actions. Regardless of whether a State was a party to the Convention or not, it was imperative for all to behave responsibly and act with a view to achieving the common goal which was to eliminate human suffering from anti-personnel mines.

France said the Ottawa Convention was a milestone in the history of disarmament, mainly because what had prompted this undertaking was the humanitarian considerations. Nothing justified the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of these weapons when one considered the terrible suffering that they caused to civilian populations during and after conflicts. The world must continue with its efforts to strengthen the regime for a total ban on mines.

Belgium said that it had made as a major pillar of its foreign policy the fight for a world free of mines. It would continue until this fight was brought to fruition. He called on all States present, particularly those who were not yet party to the Convention, to come to the Nairobi Summit and to participate in the...

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