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Geneva Progress ReportThe States Parties had an opportunity to conduct a mid-term assessment of their efforts to apply the Cartagena Action Plan, recording in a 12MSP Geneva Progress Report the challenges that have been encountered and the work that remains in meeting Cartagena Action Plan commitments prior to the Convention’s Third Review Conference 2014.
Requests for extensions on mine clearance deadlinesThe 12MSP considered requests for mine clearance extensions that have been submitted by Afghanistan, Angola, Cyprus and Zimbabwe.
Report on the Article 5 extensions process in 2012The 12MSP warmly welcomed the report presented by the President of the Eleventh Meeting of the States Parties on the process for the preparation, submission and consideration of requests for extensions to Article 5 deadlines in 2012.
Recommendations regarding the Article 5 extensions processThe 11MSP noted that the Article 5 extension request process places a heavy burden on the representatives of those States Parties that are mandated to analyse the requests and in this context recommended that those States Parties mandated to analyse requests in 2012 reflect on the process to date with a view to identifying efficient methods to ensure that high quality requests and analyses are prepared and with a view to recommendations on this matter being submitted for consideration the 12MSP. The 12MSP was asked to consider the recommendations that have been put forward on this matter.
Mined areas discovered after the expiry of a State Party’s Article 5 deadlineThe 11MSP noted that the Convention is silent on how to address situations where States Parties discover previously unknown mined areas after deadlines have passed. The 11MSP further noted a need to develop a rational response to such situations which is firmly anchored in the object and purpose of the Convention and which does not undermine the legal obligations to destroy all anti-personnel mines in mined areas as soon as possible. In this context, the 11MSP requested that the President, supported by the Coordinating Committee, consult with all relevant stakeholders to prepare a constructive discussion on this matter at the May 2012 meetings of the Standing Committees with a view to recommendations on this matter being submitted for consideration at the 12MSP. The 11MSP President asked the Co-Chairs of the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance to facilitate consultations on this matter and to prepare a recommendation.
ISU work plan and budgetFurther to the “Directive from the States Parties to the ISU” adopted by the 10MSP which instructs the ISU to propose and present a work plan and budget for the activities of the ISU for the following year to the Coordinating Committee for endorsement and subsequently to MSPs for approval, the 12MSP was asked to approve the work plan and budget for the activities of the ISU in 2013 which was endorsed by the Coordinating Committee in September.
ISU audited financial statement and preliminary report on activities and financesFurther to the “Directive from the States Parties to the ISU” which tasks the ISU to report in written form as well as orally on the activities, functioning and finances of the ISU to each Meeting of the State Parties, and, to submit an audited annual financial report for the previous year and a preliminary annual financial report for the present year to the Coordinating Committee and subsequently to MSPs for approval, the 12MSP was asked to approve the report on the activities and finances of the ISU and the ISU’s 2011 audited financial statement.
Intersessional Work ProgrammeFurther to the 10MSP decision to examine the possibility of rationalising the numbers of States Parties in leadership positions on Standing Committees, which would see four States Parties in leadership position on each Standing Committee being reduced to two per Standing Committee with this proposal implemented in two phases, the States Parties were asked to take decisions on the second phase of this rationalisation, in particular by electing the following as Co-Chairs of the Standing Committees for a term that will last until the end of the Third Review Conference:
The above mentioned States Parties will join the following which, in accordance with the decisions of the 10MSP and 11MSP, will be completing the second year of their two year terms between the end of the 12MSP and the end of the 13MSP:
Also with respect to the Intersessional Work Programme, the 12MSP was asked to consider the proposal that meetings of the Standing Committees in 2013 take place the week of 27 to 31 May with the length of individual meetings and their sequencing, and duration of the entire period of meetings to be established by the Coordinating Committee. Thirteenth Meeting of the States PartiesThe 12MSP was asked to take decisions on the dates, location and presidency of the 13MSP, with proposal being that this meeting take place the week of 2-6 December 2013. Consideration of the organisation of the annual Meeting of the States PartiesThe 11MSP took note of suggestions to consider whether the interactive character of the annual Meeting of the States Parties could be enhanced and its duration shortened while improving its overall effectiveness, and decided that the Coordinating Committee brainstorm on this theme in the first half of 2012 and that the May 2012 intersessional meetings discuss and submit, through the President, recommendations to the 12MSP in this regard. The 11MSP further noted that, should any action be taken by the 12MSP on this basis, it would lead to appropriate adjustments to the organisation of the MSP effective as from the 13MSP. At the 25 May meeting of the Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, the 11MSP Presidency presented a paper summarising the Coordinating Committee’s brainstorming on this matter. In this paper, the Coordinating Committee, while seeing no need to recommend changes regarding how Meetings of the States Parties are organised, noted the importance of periodically assessing how the Convention’s formal and informal meetings are supporting the implementation process to the greatest extent possible. The Coordinating Committee also concluded that consideration of the issue of overlaps between the different conventional weapons instruments remains sensible (further to 10MSP decisions on this matter), and further discussions are needed to explore the appropriate framework to deal with it given the principles of independence and non-interference between international instruments.
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