1. Opening of the meeting

The intersessional meeting was opened by the President of the Fourteenth Meeting of the States Parties (14MSP), Ambassador Bertrand de Crombrugghe of Belgium, and the Director of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, Ambassador Stefano Toscano.

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2a. Universalization

The following delegations shared views and information on matters related to the universalization of the Convention: 14MSP President, ICBL, UNMAS, Mexico, Japan, ICRC, and Palestine.

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2b. Matters related to the mandate of the Committee on Victim Assistance

The Chair of the Committee on Victim Assistance, Costa Rica, presented the Committee's report and preliminary observations.

  • Report and Preliminary Observations of the Committee on Victim Assistance PDF 149KB

The following delegations shared views and information on matters related to victim assistance: Thailand, European Union, UNMAS, Sudan, Tajikistan, Austria, Croatia, Peru and the ICBL.

The following delegations provided a written submission on matters related to victim assistance: Afghanistan and Serbia.

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2c. Matters related to the Committee on Article 5 Implementation

The Chair of the Committee on Victim Assistance, Poland, presented the Committee’s report and preliminary observations.

  • Report and Preliminary Observations of the Committee on  Article 5 Implementation PDF 535KB

The following States Parties that are in the process of implementing Article 5 responded to the Committee’s preliminary observations and / or provided updates on their efforts: Mozambique, Cambodia, Peru, Algeria, the United Kingdom, Ecuador, Colombia, Sudan, Niger, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tajikistan.

The following States Parties presented requests for extended mine clearance deadlines, which will be formally considered at the 14MSP: Cyprus, Ethiopia, Mauritania and Senegal.

The following other delegations shared views on matters related to Article 5 implementation: Norway, Switzerland, UNMAS, the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and the ICBL.

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2d. Matters related to the Committee on the Enhancement of Cooperation and Assistance

The Chair the Committee on the Enhancement of Cooperation and Assistance, Indonesia, presented the Committee’s report and preliminary observations.

  • Report and Preliminary Observations of the Committee on the Enhancement of Cooperation and Assistance PDF 217KB

The following delegations shared views on matters related to cooperation and assistance: the European Union, UNMAS, Norway, the Netherlands and Zambia.

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2e. Matters related to the Committee on Cooperative Compliance

The Chair of the Committee on Cooperative Compliance, the 14MSP President, presented the Committee’s report and preliminary observations.

  • Report and Preliminary Observations of the Enhancement of Cooperation and Assistance PDF 217KB

The following delegations responded to the Committee’s observations: Ukraine and Turkey.

The following delegations shared views on matters related to cooperative compliance: Norway, Switzerland, the ICBL, UNMAS, Austria, Morocco and the ICRC.

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2f. Matters related to stockpile destruction

The 14MSP President presented his preliminary observations on stockpile destruction.

  • President’s Preliminary Observations on Stockpile Destruction PDF 207KB

The following delegations responded to the Committee’s observations: Belarus, Greece, Bulgaria, Poland, Finland and Afghanistan.  

The following delegations shared views on matters related to stockpile destruction: Switzerland, UNMAS and the ICBL.  

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3. Thematic discussion on fostering partnerships

Switzerland, in its capacity as a Member of the Committee on the Enhancement of Cooperation and Assistance, introduced a discussion on fostering partnerships. The purpose of which was to gain greater understanding and clarity to support the Maputo Review Conference’s ambition that States Parties enter into “partnerships for completion” and that the Committee on the Enhancement of Cooperation and Assistance is mandated to “facilitate the fostering of partnerships.  

The discussion featured two panels. The first panel focused on questions such as: What are partnerships? What are the expectations towards partners? How do partnerships work? And, how can partnerships be enhanced? Panellists included the following: Ambassador Saja Majali of Jordan, Ambassador Henk Cor van der Kwast of the Netherlands, Neil Buhne, the Director of the United Nations Development Programme (Geneva), and Chris Natale of Norwegian People’s Aid.

The second panel focused on the role and potential of the private sector in providing support for demining. Panelists included Gilbert Tekimiti of APOPO, Darren Cormack of the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), of Diana Peñalos, Colombia’s national mine action authority (DAICMA).

4. Transparency

The 14MSP Presidency, along with the Director of the ISU, presented a draft guide to reporting:  

The following delegations shared views on the draft reporting guide: Colombia, Switzerland, Canada, Thailand, UNMAS, Belarus and Zambia.

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5a. Update on ISU activities and finances

The ISU Director presented an update on the ISU’s 2015 activities and financing:  

  • Background and update on the finances of the ISU PDF 326KB

5b. State of play of ongoing consultations on ISU financing  

Chile presented a concept note on the financial situation of the ISU  

  • Concept note on the financial situation on the Implementation Support Unit PDF 222KB

The following delegations shared views on the financial situation of the ISU: Cambodia, Colombia, GICHD, Mexico, Algeria, Jordan, Thailand, Zambia, Japan, the Netherlands, Ethiopia, Norway, Switzerland and Sudan.

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6. Preparations for the Fourteenth Meeting of the States Parties  

The President presented a draft programme of work for the Fourteenth Meeting of the States Parties.  

Australia, in its capacity as the Coordinator of the Convention’s informal Sponsorship Programme, provided an update on the programme.  

The President proposed dates for the Fifteenth Meeting of the States Parties as follows: 29 November to 2 December 2016.

The President recalled that eight new Committee Members will need to be elected at the 14MSP and reminded delegations to notify him of their interest.  

7. Closing of the meeting  

The intersessional meeting was closed by the 14MSP President.