Stockpile Destruction

MONDAY 21 MAY

1. Opening of the meeting

The meeting was opened by its Co-Chairs, Petra Drexler of Germany and Daniela Bleoanca of Romania. The Co-Chairs were supported by their Rapporteur, Syndoph Endoni of Nigeria.

2. Updates by States Parties on the status of implementation of article 4

The following three States Parties which, as of the 11MSP, were in the process of complying with their Article 4 stockpile destruction obligations, provided updates on their efforts to comply with Article 4:: Belarus, Greece and Ukraine.

The following delegations commented or asked questions with respect to various updates: the ICRC, the ICBL and the UN Mine Action Team.

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3. The destruction of previously unknown stockpiles

The Co-Chairs recalled that in Action #12 of the Cartagena Action Plan, it was agreed 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 urgent priority.” The following States Parties provided updates on this matter: the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Nigeria.

The following delegation commented on various updates: the ICRC.

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4. Stockpiles held by States not parties and plans to destroy them

No State not party took advantage of this opportunity.

5. Updates on other developments and initiatives in support of the stockpile destruction aspects of the Cartagena Action Plan

The Co-Chairs provided an opportunity for updates on other developments and initiatives in support of the stockpile destruction aspects of the Cartagena Action Plan. No delegation took the floor during this agenda item.

6. Closing remarks by the Co-Chairs

The Co-Chairs closed the meeting by noting that the little amount of time required by this Standing Committee is not indicative of the complexity of the issues that the States Parties still face in achieving full implementation of Article 4. The Co-Chairs indicated that they will continue efforts between leading to the 12MSP to further promote implementation of Article 4 and that they will continue working with all interested actors.