ICRC Proposals to Action Plan 2005 - 2009
ICRC proposals for amendments to Action #54 and Action #55 of the document
"Ending the suffering caused by anti-personnel mines: the Draft Nairobi
Action Plan 2005-2009"
The consistency of the application of Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention
have been an important subject of discussion among States Parties ever
since the First Meeting of the States Parties in 1999, and in the context
of the meetings of the Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation
of the Convention.
The Fifth Meeting of the States Parties called upon all States Parties
"to continue to share information and views, particularly with respect
to articles 1, 2 and 3, with a view to developing understandings on various
matters by the First Review Conference".
At this point, States Parties appear to be in a position to record a convergence
of views with respect to Article 3 of the Convention. The ICRC therefore
proposes that Action #54 of the Draft Nairobi Action Plan be amended by
adding the following sentence (new text indicated in italics), which we
believe reflects the common view of States Parties on this issue. Action
#54: In situations where States Parties have retained mines in accordance
with the exceptions in Article 3, provide information on the plans requiring
the retention of mines for the development of and training
in mine detection, mine clearance, or mine destruction techniques and report
on the actual use of retained mines and the results of such use.
The number of mines so retained, if any, will be the minimum number absolutely
necessary, as required by Article 3, and be numbered in the hundreds or
thousands, or less, and not in the tens of thousands. The ICRC believes
it is important that the Review Conference record this view in the Nairobi
Action Plan.
In addition, with respect to Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention, the statements
and practice of States Parties have evolved considerably over the last
five years. In light of the above-mentioned call of the Fifth Meeting
of the States Parties for States to work to resolve these issues and to
build on the progress achieved to date, the ICRC proposes that Action #55
of the Draft Nairobi Action Plan be amended by adding the following phrase
(new text indicated in italics) Action #55: Exchange views and share their
experiences in a cooperative and informal manner on the practical implementation
of the various provisions of the Convention, including Articles 1, 2 and
3, to continue to promote
effective and consistent application of these provisions, with a view to
developing a convergence of views on these issues as a matter of priority.