11th Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons - EU Statement

Mr. President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia[*], Montenegro^*, Serbia^* and Albania^*, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Ukraine and Georgia align themselves with this statement.

I would like to congratulate Estonia and you personally on assuming the Presidency of Protocol V, and assure you of the EU's full support.

I would like to start by expressing our concern over the continued serious financial situation of the Convention which led to the cancellation of all expert meetings this year, thereby affecting the operation and implementation of Protocol V. We urge all States to comply with their financial obligations in full and on time. We support the work carried out by the UK Chair to identify possible solutions to ensure the financial sustainability of the CCW.

The EU and its Member States are fully committed to the objective of Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War. We strongly support efforts to universalise and strengthen this important instrument of International Humanitarian Law. While welcoming the recent accession of Afghanistan to the CCW and Protocol V, we note that the level of adherence remains relatively low and offers room for improvement. Protocol V plays a key role in addressing the serious post-conflict impact for civilians and their daily lives in communities. The effective implementation of Protocol V helps to reduce the humanitarian harm and minimise the risks and effects of Explosive Remnants of War. 

As the world's largest humanitarian aid donor, the EU continues to provide significant assistance for mine action, in particular for the clearance and destruction of mines, booby-traps and Explosive Remnants of War, to victims and for mine risk education in the most heavily affected countries and regions of the world, including in Chad, Colombia, Croatia, Iraq, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Libya, Myanmar, Syria and Ukraine. In 2016 alone, the EU and its Member States contributed more than EUR 100 million to mine action worldwide.

Enhanced ownership by affected States and improved coordination between donors are essential prerequisites for successful mine action on the ground to maximise the impact of available resources. In this regard, the EU supports exploring further cooperation and synergies between various instruments bearing in mind the importance of coordinated mine action. A gender-based approach in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1325 is also an integral part of our humanitarian action.

The EU remains committed to strengthening the implementation of all Provisions of Protocol V. We attach great importance to enhancing transparency and confidence-building measures, in particular national reporting on steps taken to implement the Convention. National reporting, provided on a yearly basis, does not only increase our understanding of the progress made and the challenges faced in implementing Protocol V, but also facilitates international cooperation and assistance. We would like to take this opportunity to call on all High Contracting Parties to fulfil their reporting obligations in a timely and effective manner. We thank the ISU for providing regular updates on national submissions.

The key question is how to improve not only the rate, but also the quality of national reporting. In this regard, we support last year's decision to consider establishing an expert mechanism to assist High Contracting Parties on a voluntary basis on national reporting. We welcome the continued efforts of the President to further refine the proposal on national reporting, including providing expert assistance either in the form of one-on-one briefings in Geneva, facilitating contact between the country requiring assistance and experts from other High Contracting Parties or relevant organisations, or in-country visits. We look forward to his proposal to be adopted and implemented.

We support further sharing of information and experiences among the High Contracting Parties on the implementation of their obligations under Article 4, in accordance with last year's Decision. Information which is released by armed forces accurately, in a timely manner and in a usable format, as required by Article 4, will have a positive impact on clearance, destruction and removal of Explosive Remnants of War on the ground; we therefore welcome today's panel discussions on development of appropriate procedures within Article 4 and their implementation.

We are looking forward to working together with all High Contracting Parties aiming at further advancing the effective implementation of Protocol V.

Thank you, Mr. President

[*] The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.