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26.01.2018
Geneva – Following a successful Sixteenth Meeting of the States Parties and gains in membership with Sri Lanka and Palestine acceding to the Convention — H.E. Suraya Dalil, Ambassador of Afghanistan to Switzerland and the UN in Geneva and President of the Seventeenth Meeting of the States Parties (17MSP), held the first meeting of the Convention's Coordinating Committee. On 26 January the various Committees that make up the Coordinating Committee presented their initial plans to implement their mandates in support of the Convention. The Coordinating Committee consists of 17 States Parties (Afghanistan, Algeria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, Iraq, Mozambique, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom) and four observer organisations (ICBL, ICRC, GICHD, UNODA). The 17 States work in four Committees (Committee on Article 5 Implementation, the Committee on Cooperative Compliance, the Committee on Victim Assistance, and the Committee on the Enhancement of Cooperation and Assistance) promoting implementation of the Convention throughout the year. Afghanistan's Convention Presidency
“The Parties to the Convention have made substantive progress. However, we must carry out concerted and targeted efforts, combined with innovation and smart partnerships to achieve the core aims of the Convention and our ambition of a mine-free world by 2025”, said the Ambassador. Afghanistan, one of the most mine-affected countries in the world, also runs one of the largest mine action programmes which has resulted in increased national expertise in mine clearance. “Afghanistan stands ready to share lessons learnt and best practices with affected States Parties in need of technical assistance to tackle the problems caused by anti-personnel mines,” said Ambassador Dalil. In addition to leading the work of the States Parties during the year including a Pledging Conference and intersessional meetings, Ambassador Dalil will chair the work of the 17MSP from 26-30 November 2018 at the United Nations Office at Geneva. For more information, please contact: isu@apminebanconvention.org. |
Ambassador Dalil emphasized that one of Afghanistan's ambitions during its presidency is to promote the universalization of the Convention and its norms, with a particular focus on the Central Asia region where adherence is low. Afghanistan will also continue to promote implementation of the Convention.