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The Seventeenth Meeting of the States Parties (17MSP) was a formal meeting of the 164 States Parties to the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. The 17MSP was held in accordance with Article 11 of the Convention and pursuant to decisions of the 2017 Sixteenth Meeting of the States Parties. A total of 125 delegations participated in the 17MSP, including 93 States parties, 10 States not party and 22 organisations. The 17MSP was presided over by Afghanistan which has strived to encourage mine-affected and other States as well as donors to actively engage in partnerships to accelerate meeting the Convention's aims. Afghanistan sees that the Convention is not just about clearing mined areas but is also about a commitment to protect and ensure that landmine survivors are able to exercise their human rights and participate in society on an equal basis with others in their community. The 17MSP was the last opportunity for the States Parties to assess progress in achieving the aims of the Maputo Action Plan in advance of the Convention’s Fourth Review Conference due to take place in November 2019. In this respect the 17MSP considered the current status of implementation of the Convention and laid the foundation for a collective reflection on how to ensure the Convention is fully implemented to ultimately meet the expectations of those it aims to protect, in line with the commitments made by States Parties in the Maputo +15 Declaration. During the 17MSP States Parties and others highlighted their achievements and challenges in implementing the key objectives of the Convention and their Maputo Action Plan commitments. |