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Monday 25 MAY1. Opening of the meetingThe meeting was opened by its Co-Chairs, Nicoletta Piccirillo Italy and Sheila Mweeba of Zambia. The Co-Chairs were supported by their Co-Rapporteurs, Ivan Gostodinov and Jose Tavares of Indonesia. In opening the meeting, the Co-Chairs highlighted that they had developed a programme that had the following elements: (i) an overview of the status of implementation of Article 4; (ii) updates from States Parties on their efforts to implement Article 4; (iii) a discussion on addressing concerns about compliance with Article 4; (iv) updates from States Parties on the status of transparency reporting as concerns stockpiled anti-personnel mines; (v) updates on stockpiled anti-personnel mines discovered after the completion of destruction programmes; (vi) updates on cooperation and assistance as concerns stockpile destruction; and, (vii) an exchange of views on thematic matters concerning stockpile destruction. 2. Overview of the general status of implementation of Article 4The Co-Chairs provided an overview of the general status of implementation of Article 4 of the Convention. This was followed by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) sharing its views on Article 4 implementation. 3. Updates by States Parties on their status of implementing Article 43.1 Updates were provided by the following States Parties which, by the end of the 9MSP, had not yet complied with their Article 4 obligations by their respective deadlines: Belarus, Greece and Turkey. 3.2 An update was provided by the following State Party which is in the process of implementing Article 4: Ukraine. 3.3 The following States Parties that had previously completed their stockpile destruction programmes shared their experiences: Serbia and Sudan. 3.4. The following delegations shared views or asked questions in response to the presentations that were made: the ICBL and the ICRC. 4. Addressing concerns about compliance with Article 4The Co-Chairs recalled the recommendations that had been embraced by the Ninth Meeting of the States Parties (9MSP) regarding cases of non-compliance and preventing future instances of non-compliance. This was followed by the following delegations who shared their views regarding Article 4 compliance concerns: Australia, Canada, Norway, the ICBL and the ICRC. 5. Updates from relevant States Parties on the status of transparency reportingThe Co-Chairs congratulated Haiti for having submitted its transparency report earlier this year within which it confirm that it does not possess stockpiled anti-personnel mines. The Co-Chairs then provided an opportunity for other relevant States Parties to provide updates on the status of preparing initial transparency reports. No updates were provided. 6. The destruction of previously unknown stockpilesThe Co-Chairs recalled that the Nairobi Action Plan states that “all States Parties will, when previously unknown stockpiles are discovered after stockpile destruction deadlines have passed, report such discoveries in accordance with their obligations under Article 7, take advantage of other informal means to share such information and destroy these mines as a matter of urgency.” In the context of this action point, the following State Party provided an update: Niger. 7. Cooperation and assistance in the destruction of stockpiled anti-personnel minesThe Co-Chairs provided an opportunity for delegations to provide updates on their assistance activities as concerns stockpile destruction. The following delegation provided an update: UNMAS on behalf of the United Nations Mine Action Team (UNMAT). 8. Other matters of a thematic nature related to stockpile destructionThe Co-Chairs provided an opportunity for discussion on any other matter of a thematic nature related to stockpile destruction. No delegation took the floor under this item. 9. Closing remarksPrior to closing the meeting, the Co-Chairs delivered closing remarks. |