Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention Intersessional Meeting - EU Statement on Universalisation

Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention

Intersessional Meeting

Geneva, 18-20 June 2024

EU Statement on Universalisation

Mr. President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina[1] align themselves with this statement.

The European Union and its Member States acknowledge the engagement of Cambodia in support of the universalisation of the Convention. We commend your able leadership, Mr. President and we fully support the priority of the Presidency to universalisation. We remain committed to support your efforts in encouraging States to join the Convention.

The European Union is united in support of the Convention. All 27 EU Member States are States Parties to the Ottawa Convention, support the implementation of the Oslo Action Plan, and are strongly united in banning the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines.

We fully stand behind Actions 11 and 12 of the Oslo Action Plan (OAP) which requires States Parties to “use all available avenues to promote ratification of/accession to the Convention by States not party including by encouraging their participation in the work of the Convention”, and by promoting “universal observance of the Convention’s norms and objectives, condemn violations of these norms and take appropriate steps to end the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines by any actor, including by armed non-state actors.”

At our end, we consistently support the universalisation of the Ottawa Convention and call on the remaining thirty-three States not yet Parties to the Convention to adhere as soon as possible. As an interim step, States are also encourage to pronounce a self-declared policy of non-use. In the current deteriorated security environment, which also comes with new challenges to the global non-proliferation and disarmament architecture, our resolute collective engagement in preserving the Ottawa Convention and promoting its universalisation is all the more important. We reaffirm the strong commitment to upholding the norm against anti-personnel mines and supporting the universalisation of the Convention.

The EU is the world’s second largest donor in mine action. In this framework, it allocated

2.6 million EUR to the Implementation Support Unit to promote the Convention with States non-party in the period 2021-2025 to contribute to the full implementation of the Oslo Action Plan and its concrete actions, including a variety of universalisation efforts under the President’s mandate.

The European Union and its Member States regret the lack of progress in the universalisation of the Convention since 2017, with 33 States remaining outside, despite our numerous workshops carried out at either national, sub-regional or regional levels with relevant ministries or institutions of the target States.

In this regard, we would like that the upcoming Fifth Review Conference of the Convention uses an opportunity to review progress, reaffirm commitments and promote further universalisation and strengthened implementation of the Convention.

The European Union will actively engage in favour of a successful outcome of the Review Conference and support all efforts engaged towards universalisation, including those of the Presidency, Implementation Support Unit and Special Envoys of the Convention, and develop incentives to promote universalisation, including through funding. We will also continue to sponsor relevant delegates from target States to attend Convention meetings. This would ensure that States Parties can follow up with target States, and that Convention meetings remain on the target States’ radar.

The European Union encourages other States Parties to join its outreach efforts, to underline    the benefits of joining the Convention and to use all available avenues to promote accession and universal observance of its norms and objectives.

I thank you, Mr. President.

[1] North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.