Thank you, Chair.
Three-quarters of States Parties have provided initial Article 7 transparency reports, and we congratulate them for that. However, 20 States Parties are late in submitting their initial transparency reports, including 12 that had submission deadlines in 2011. We would like to see a 100% compliance rate for this important legal obligation. The lack of transparency reports from Chile and Guinea-Bissau is of particular concern as they both have stockpiles to declare and destroy.
Ten of the 47 States Parties that have submitted initial Article 7 reports have yet to provide their annual updated report for 2011 that was due by 30 April 2012. Providing the annual report should be a simple process as the cover page can be used to indicate no change and only the forms containing new information need to be submitted.
We welcome the submission of voluntary reports by signatories Canada, DR Congo, and Palau, and urge other signatories to follow this example by providing voluntary reports.
While it is the responsibility of States Parties to provide timely and complete reports, it can be a challenge to locate the reporting template on the UN website. We would like to see these made more easily and readily accessible online. We welcome the completion of the guide on transparency reporting that Belgium has produced and hope that this will assist States Parties to compile, complete, and submit their reports.
Through the wealth of information provided in the transparency reports, we are beginning to get a fuller and more complete understanding of how states are proceeding to implement the convention. Many Article 7 reports contain “good news” with respect to swift destruction of cluster munition stockpiles and national implementation measures to provide a few examples. We welcome the definitive statements that some States Parties have made in their Article 7 transparency reports that they do not possess stockpiles, but others that we do not believe maintain any stocks have not made that clear in their reports.
For a couple of States Parties that were not previously known to have stocks (FYR Macedonia and Mozambique), the process of preparing the transparency report has resulted in the identification of stockpiled cluster munitions, indicating their thoroughness in fulfilling their reporting obligation.
From our analysis of Article 7 reports that have been submitted, we have identified a few areas where more effort is needed to improve reporting standards. For example, only a dozen States Parties that have submitted initial reports have utilized voluntary Form J to detail actions taken to promote universalization of the Convention or to discourage use of cluster munitions. As these are clear obligations for all States Parties, we encourage all States Parties to provide this information.
Several States Parties have not provided definitive statements in their reporting. Notably, some simply submit “not applicable” in response to particular information requests. For example, we urge States Parties to include a short narrative statement on Form E on conversion of production facilities, i.e., “Country X never produced cluster munitions,” instead of simply putting “N/A” in the form or leaving it blank.
In our monitoring efforts over the past year, we have often found a need to follow-up with States Parties that stockpile significant numbers and various types of cluster munitions and submunitions to seek clarification on the information provided. We acknowledge that it can be challenging to provide clear declarations on numbers and types of stockpiled cluster munitions and understand that ongoing destruction processes result in frequently changing numbers. Still, we urge States Parties to review their reports thoroughly prior to submitting them to ensure that they are complete and properly filled out with sufficient detail.
Finally we would like to remind states that reporting is required on national and international resource provision for stockpile destruction, clearance and victim assistance, but many states are not providing this information.
In closing, we view transparency as essential for building confidence, indicating needs, and providing a more complete picture on implementation of the convention. We urge all States Parties to meet this essential obligation of the convention.
Thank you.
