02.08.2017
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile and 15MSP President Heraldo Muñoz, is seen signing
the Reparation for Victims of Explosives and Anti-personnel Mines Law in Santiago.
At left, H.E. Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile and Minister of Defense José Antonio Gómez.
(R) Carmen Castillo, Minister of Health. All Photos, MinRel Chile.
Find additional photos of Chile's hosting of the Convention in 2016 on Flickr.
Santiago and Geneva - A 25 July new Law in Chile, provides economic compensation for beneficiaries of those killed by landmines and other explosive remnants of war, and maintains sustained commitment in the form of medical benefits, rehabilitation and integration for landmine survivors.
"With this new regulation, we continue working on the fulfilment of one of the key commitments of the Ottawa Convention, which was adopted in 1997 and subscribed to by our country in 2002," said Chilean Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Marta Maurás, who led the work of the Convention in 2016, and presided over its meeting in Santiago in December last year.
The President of Chile, H.E. Michelle Bachelet enacting the new Law in Chile.
Chile has never wavered in its commitment for a mine-free Chile or the Convention's objective to eliminate the suffering caused by anti-personnel mines. We are also deeply committed to meeting the ambition of the States Parties to achieve a mine-free world by 2025 and keeping the promise to landmine survivors expressed by the Convention. We hope to encourage other mine-affected countries to maintain their efforts in this last stretch," said Ambassador Maurás.
Landmine survivors, affected families, campaigners and government officials after
the signing and enacting of the new Law in Santiago.
The news was welcomed by the body of the Ottawa Convention as it readies to commemorate the 20 years since the adoption of this landmark disarmament instrument, which became the first to address the needs of the survivors of a particular weapon.
“I wish to commend Chile for its leadership in the Convention, and for its commitment to a world free of anti-personnel mines underlined by the adoption of the new law regarding mine victims’ rights,” said Thomas Hajnoczi, Ambassador of Austria to the UN in Geneva who leads the Convention in 2017.
“At the 2014 Maputo Review Conference, we pledged to translate the Maputo Action Plan adopted by the States Parties, into sustainable progress in mine clearance and assistance to landmine victims. Chile has acted on this pledge on both fronts, advancing in its mine clearance efforts and commitments to landmine survivors,” said Ambassador Hajnoczi.
The Austrian Ambassador will lead the work of the Sixteenth Meeting of the States Parties (16MSP), from 18-23 December at the United Nations in Vienna, at a time when the Convention commemorates 20 years since its adoption.
Austria was one of a core group of States instrumental in fostering consultations and diplomatic conferences that ultimately resulted in the adoption of the Convention in Oslo in September 1997, and signing in Ottawa on 3-4 December later that year.
As of 2017, there are 162 States Parties to the Convention, representing more than 80% of the world’s countries. The Parties have destroyed more than 51 million landmines, with 159 States no longer having landmine stockpile destruction obligations.
For more information please contact the Convention's Implementation Support Unit: isu(at)apminebanconvention.org
