Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) - Meetings of States Parties
General debate statement on Protocol V (Explosive Remnants of War)
by HE Ms Caroline Millar, Ambassador for Disarmament and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations (Geneva)
9 November 2009
Mr President May I first congratulate you on your election as President of the Third Conference of High Contracting Parties to Protocol V of the CCW. We look forward to cooperating with you and other States to ensure a successful outcome for this Conference.
We would also like to thank the five Coordinators on clearance, victim assistance, international cooperation and assistance, generic preventative measures and national reporting for their hard work. Through their efforts we are building on past achievements and are moving forward in putting into operation Protocol V. The discussions at the Meeting of Experts held in April 2009 and the subsequent Coordinators’ reports demonstrate the usefulness of this informal implementation mechanism. We trust that the Coordinators are able to continue to provide leadership in their respective areas and to foster the effective implementation of the Protocol.
Australia looks forward to discussing the recommendations proposed by the Coordinators to this Conference.
Mr President
Australia extends a special welcome to the new States Parties to Protocol V since the last Conference, namely Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Georgia, Latvia, Mali, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Senegal, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America. 61 States are now parties to the Protocol.
While we welcome the strong growth in membership of this Protocol over the past year, much work remains to achieve its universalisation.
Mr President Protocol V is a significant and practical step forward in reducing the humanitarian risks and effects of all forms of explosive remnants of war. Australia has taken the necessary steps to fully implement the provisions of Protocol V. The Australian Defence Force has updated its doctrine in relation to explosive ordnance to incorporate the provisions of Protocol V and has implemented Australia’s obligations in all aspects of its operational planning, including in the targeting process.
Australia is also working towards implementing the preventative measures in Part 3 of the Technical Annex to this Protocol. When procuring explosive ordnance, Australia has endeavoured to ensure measures, including those relating to munitions manufacturing management, are implemented and respected during the life cycle of the explosive ordinance.
Consistent with its international obligations, Australia continues to maintain a robust ordnance management regime. Samples of our ordnance stocks inventory are inspected and tested regularly to ensure they continue to meet the internationally accepted performance specifications. This activity is critical for improving the reliability of munitions, and therefore minimising the occurrence of explosive remnants of war.
Mr President
Australia is equally committed to fulfilling its obligations under Protocol V in order to minimise the risks and effects of explosive remnants of war, including those obligations in Article 8 of the Protocol on cooperation and assistance.
Australia’s Mine Action Strategy, supported by a 5-year $75 million pledge from 2005 to 2010, has assisted in reducing the humanitarian suffering and socio-economic impact of landmines and other explosive remnants of war principally through clearance, risk education and survivor assistance. We have delivered support to countries across the Asia-Pacific, and in the Middle East and Africa. We are currently working on developing a new multi-year funding Strategy to guide Australia’s action on landmines and other explosive remnants of war in the future, and hope to announce this shortly.
Clearing land contaminated by explosive remnants of war is vital to removing the threat and social and economic impact to individuals and communities. Australia has provided more than A$17 million in Afghanistan since 2007, to support a large scale, community-based initiative to tackle landmines and explosive remnants of war in Oruzgan and border provinces. Clearance has allowed affected communities to move freely again and cultivate their lands.
Victim assistance is a key component of our mine action program. In Iraq, we support a number of victim assistance centres in rehabilitating and reintegrating people with disability, including explosive remnants of war victims, into society.
In the Lao People’s Democratic Republic we are working in partnership with civil society to ensure that people with disability, including victims of unexploded ordnance incidents, understand their rights and exercise them to achieve greater inclusion in social and economic activities.
We have recently supported similar activities in other countries affected by explosive remnants of war, including Cambodia, Lebanon, Nepal, Mozambique and Sri Lanka.
Additional information on Australia’s implementation of Protocol V can be found in our national annual report for 2008-09.
Mr President Protocol V provides the High Contracting Parties with an immediate tool to address concerns surrounding explosive remnants of war. We urge all CCW States to consent to be bound by Protocol V as soon as possible. Universal acceptance and effective implementation of Protocol V will greatly assist in minimising the post-conflict humanitarian problems caused by explosive remnants of war.
Thank you.