Cartagena, Colombia
We would like to congratulate Ethiopia and Kuwait for completing the destruction of their stockpiled antipersonnel mines this year. They are the most recent of the 86 States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty to complete destruction of stocks. Nineteen of these States Parties have fulfilled this obligation since the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty. States Parties collectively have destroyed about 44 million stockpiled antipersonnel mines, including more than 5.5 million since the First Review Conference.
Most States Parties have completed destruction far in advance of their deadlines. Through 2007, only four States Parties-Turkmenistan, Guinea, Cape Verde, and Afghanistan-missed their stockpile destruction deadlines. Each subsequently completed destruction about a year late.
The destruction of stockpiled antipersonnel mines is a crucial treaty obligation. Unlike the deadline for clearance of emplaced mines, the Mine Ban Treaty contains no provision allowing for an extension of the stockpile destruction deadline. This is because negotiators believed that every state should be able to meet a four-year deadline with appropriate political will, adequate planning and, if needed, assistance.
The past decade of impressive compliance of this core obligation of the treaty became seriously tarnished in March 2008 when three States Parties-Greece, Turkey, and Belarus-missed their stockpile destruction deadlines. As we have heard, each remains in non-compliance today.
Greece and Turkey simply started the destruction process far too late. Had they initiated the planning process earlier, they would not have had any difficulty meeting their deadlines. That should be instructive for any future States Parties that have stocks, as well as for States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. We recognize that Belarus has special challenges related to PFM mines and its need for significant international assistance. But again, if Belarus, States Parties, and other donors had engaged extensively and in a sustained way from the very beginning, Belarus would not be in the situation it faces today.
We appreciate the updates provided by all three countries, particularly Turkey's indication that it will finish stockpile destruction as soon as possible next year. The Review document notes the serious concern expressed by other States Parties about non-compliance by Greece, Turkey, and Belarus, and the Action Plan includes three points aimed at states in non-compliance. It is crucial that all three states set a firm date for completion, and that they and donors devote the necessary resources to meet it. For transparency purposes, they should report to other States Parties on progress on a monthly basis.
To ensure no new cases of non-compliance, we strongly support Action #10, which says that States Parties should prepare stockpile destruction plans within one year of joining the treaty and begin actual destruction of mines within two years.
However, we are faced right now with a looming compliance crisis for Ukraine. Ukraine informed States Parties in May 2009 that it was unlikely to meet its 1 June 2010 stockpile destruction deadline. It still possesses nearly 6 million PFM-type mines and almost 150,000 POM-2 mines. With less than a year left before Ukraine's deadline, we are running out of time to find any solution that will enable them to finish destruction by their deadline.
We are gravely concerned that Ukraine will not meet its deadline and that it may take as many as five years to complete destruction. This is a matter that demands the attention of all State Parties as a matter of urgency and as a shared responsibility to ensure compliance with the treaty.
These are the only four States Parties that have officially declared a stockpile destruction obligation. However, Iraq has reported uncertainty about the existence of a stockpile which it still needs to clarify well in advance of its 1 February 2012 stockpile destruction deadline. Moreover, Equatorial Guinea and the Gambia have never submitted an Article 7 report and thus have not yet formally declared the presence or absence of stockpiles. However, they are not believed to possess any mines.
At the First Review Conference, States Parties resolved to act when previously unknown stockpiles of antipersonnel mines are discovered after stockpile destruction deadlines have passed. This includes reporting such discoveries in accordance with their obligations under Article 7 and destroying these mines as a matter of urgent priority. States Parties took this a step further by agreeing to adopt a modified voluntary reporting format for reporting on these mines.
Since the First Review Conference in 2004, 15 States Parties have reported new discoveries or seizures of mines in their Article 7 reports. There have also been official or media reports of new discoveries or seizures of antipersonnel mines in at least eight other States Parties, but they have not included such information in their Article 7 reports (Algeria, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Kenya, Peru, the Philippines, and Turkey).
Finally, we would like to point to a different kind of stockpile concern: those held by states not party to the Convention. Landmine Monitor estimates that as many as 35 states not party to the Mine Ban Treaty stockpile more than 160 million antipersonnel mines. The vast majority of these stockpiles belong to just three states: China (estimated 110 million), Russia (estimated 24.5 million), and the US (10.4 million). Other states with large stockpiles include Pakistan (estimated six million) and India (estimated four to five million).
These huge numbers reinforce the importance of universalizing the Mine Ban Treaty and firmly establishing a new international norm against the weapon, so that these millions of mines will never be used.
Thank you.
