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Monday 2 June & FRIDAY 6 JUNE1. Opening of the meetingThe meeting was opened by its Co-Chairs, Albrecht von Wittke of Germany and Ambassador Philip Owade of Kenya. In opening the meeting, the Co-Chairs recalled the four areas of work covered by the programme: (i) an overall assessment of the status of the pursuit of the Convention’s core airms, (ii) discussion on matters of cross-cutting interest to all Standing Committees, (iii) ongoing consideration of the implementation of various articles of the Convention which have traditionally been discussed by this Standing Committee; and, (iv) updates on the work of various implementation mechanisms. In addition, the Co-Chairs indicated that on 9 May, the Co-Chairs wrote to all States Parties concerning the established the traditional practice that these the Co-Chairs of the Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention undertaking the task of consulting with a view to identifying a list of nominees to serve as Co-Rapporteurs.
2. General status of ImplementationHRH Prince Mired Raad Al-Hussein of Jordan, President of the Eighth Meeting of the States Parties, provided an overview of the progress made to date in pursuit of the Nairobi Action Plan and the priorities contained in the Dead Sea Progress Report.
3. General status of UniversalizationThe Coordinator of the Universalization Contact Group, Canada, provided an update of steps taken since the 8MSP to promote Universalization.
The following States not parties made statements on their efforts to proceed with ratification of or accession to the Convention. In addition, States Parties and organisations that have contributed to universalization efforts took the floor to provide updates on their activities:
4. Cooperation and AssistanceThe Linking Mine Action and Development Contact Group Coordinator (Canada) provided an update on efforts to establish and promote guidelines on how to more effectively link mine action with development:
In addition, the following States Parties or organizations provided views or updates in the context of the topic of Linking Mine Action and Development.
5. Update on Article 7 reportingThe Coordinator of the Article 7 Contact Group, Belgium, provided an overview of efforts related to transparency reporting in accordance with the Article.
The following organization shared views with respect to Article 7 reporting.
6. Updates on Article 3The Co-Chairs read out the names of the 19 States Parties that have made use of Form D in Article 7 reports submitted in 2008 to share information on mines retained for permitted purposes. In addition, the Co-Chairs distributed a document with all States Parties that have reported having retained mines in accordance with Article 3 along with the information volunteered by the States Parties listed.
The following States Parties provided updates on plans for and use of mines retained for the development of and training in mine detection, mine clearance, or mine destruction techniques in accordance with Article 3.
In addition, the following organizations provided views on mines retained under Article 3.
7. Updates by Contact Group CoordinatorsThe Co-Chairs provided the opportunity for updates to be provided by Contact Group Coordinators.
The Co-Chairs opened the floor for comments or questions. The following delegations took the floor:
8. Article 3 - Plans for and use of mines retained for the development of and training in mine detection, mine clearance, or mine destruction techniquesThe Co-Chairs provided the opportunity for those States Parties that have reported mines retained for the purposes permitted in Article 3 to share information on their plans requiring the retention of mines in accordance with Article 3, the actual use of these mines and the results of this use. The opportunity was then provided for those States Parties that have reported that they have not retained mines for purposes permitted under Article 3 and for general comments, questions and discussions on this topic. The following delegations took the floor:
9. Article 9 – The development and adoption of legislative, administrative and other measures
The Co-Chairs opened the floor for comments or questions. The following delegations took the floor:
10. The Practical Implementation of the Various Other Provisions of the ConventionIn keeping with Action # 55 of the Nairobi Action Plan the Co-Chairs opened the floor for an exchange of views and experiences on the practical implementation of the various provisions of the Convention, including Article 1, 2, and 3, to continue to promote effective and consistent application of these provisions. (a) The Practical Implementation of Article 1
(b) The Practical Implementation of Article 2(c) The Practical Implementation of Article 3(d) The Practical Implementation of measures Preventing and suppressing Prohibited Activities and Facilitating Compliance(e) The Practical Implementation of Other Provisions of the Convention not otherwise covered by this or other Standing Committees11. Preparations for the Ninth Meeting of the States PartiesThe Co-Chairs provided an opportunity for views to be shared with respect to various procedural matters concerning the next Meeting of the States Parties. Ambassador Streuli of Switzerland, 9MSP President-Designate, provided further information on draft agenda, a draft programme, and draft cost estimates for the Meeting of the States Parties:
The Co-Chairs provided the opportunity for discussion regarding the location of the Second Review Conference. The following States Parties took the floor: 12. Other Matters Pertaining to the General Operations of the ConventionThe Co-Chairs provided the opportunity for comments on the work of various implementation mechanisms and to make announcements of support to the Implementation Support Unit Trust Fund and Sponsorship Programme.
13. Closing Remarks by the Co-Chairs of the Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention
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