Geneva, Switzerland
Thank you for the floor, Mr. Chairman. We find this to be a wholly inadequate outcome on cluster munitions. It is not a credible mandate.
Yes, it says the word "negotiate," but it is impossible to imagine a weaker negotiating mandate. From the range of contradictory remarks we have just heard from States Parties, it is clear that collectively you do not have a clue what it is you are negotiating. There is no agreement on what it means to "negotiate a proposal."
The mandate, like cluster munitions themselves, is fatally flawed. You are not going to be negotiating a legally-binding instrument, you are not going to be negotiating a prohibition of any sort, and you have no timeline to complete negotiations, so no true sense of urgency. A mandate needed all of these elements to be considered serious and credible, and this has none.
The difficulties that states have had in agreeing to this weak and watered down mandate should give one pause when considering if the CCW is going to be able to negotiate anything that will have a real impact on the cluster munition problem.
With this outcome, it is clear that any state that is serious about wanting to achieve urgently an effective international instrument that will prohibit cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians will throw their full support to the Olso Process, which will conclude a strong treaty next year in 2008. It is the only viable approach on the cluster munition issue.
Thank you.
TEXT OF THE DECISION:
The Meeting of High Contracting Parties to the CCW decided that the GGE [Group of Governmental Experts] will negotiate a proposal to address urgently the humanitarian impact of cluster munitions, while striking a balance between military and humanitarian considerations.
The GGE should make every effort to negotiate this proposal as rapidly as possible and report on the progress made to the next meeting of the High Contracting Parties in November 2008.
The work of the GGE will be supported by military and technical experts. The GGE will meet in 2008 not less than three times for a total of up to seven weeks.
