Monday 13 June - Wednesday 15 June1. Opening of the meetingThe meeting was opened by its Co-Chairs from Algeria and Sweden, with the support of its Co-Rapporteurs from Jordan and Slovenia. 2. General overview on the status of implementationDr. Annika Thunborg, Co-Chair of the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies made a statement on the general status of implementation of Article 5.
3. Updates from States Parties on the status of implementation of Article 5The following States Parties provided updates on the problems they face, their plans, progress and priorities for assistance pertaining to their Article 5 obligations. In addition, the Organization of American States provided an update on implementation of the Convention on the part of Suriname.
In addition to presentations by these States Parties, two experts respondents – Mr. Steve Olejas of the ICBL Mine Action Working Group and Mr. Earl Turcotte of the UNDP – provided comments in response to these presentations. 4. Updates from those in a position to do regarding cooperation and assistanceMr. Per Nergaard of Norwegian Peoples Aid set the scene for a discussion on cooperation and assistance by making a statement that focused on issues related to the efficiency and effectiveness of mine action.
In addition, the following States and organizations shared views and information regarding cooperation and assistance:
5. Mine Risk EducationMr. Stan Brabant of the ICBL Mine Risk Education Working Group provided an overview of mine risk education in the context of the Convention to set the scene for a discussion on ths matter.
6. Mine Action TechnologiesMr. Marc Acheroy of Belgium, the coordinator of the informal mine action technologies experts’ group, introduced the topic of mine action technologies. This was followed by presentations by various other actors. |