NEWS RELEASES
CANADA OFFERS TO HOST TREATY CONFERENCE TOSIGN BAN ON ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES
October 5, 1996 No. 183
CANADA OFFERS TO HOST TREATY CONFERENCE TO
SIGN BAN ON ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today announced that he has invited
government representatives at a major strategy conference on anti-personnel (AP)
mines in Ottawa to confer with their foreign ministers on the possibility of
attending an AP mines ban treaty-signing conference to be hosted by Canada in
December 1997.
"Over the last few days, representatives of 70 governments, non-governmental
organizations, and multilateral agencies, and private citizens, have told us that
this gathering has added greatly to the momentum to ban AP mines," said Minister
Axworthy. "If the will is there, and we believe it is, we are offering to host an
AP mine ban treaty-signing conference in December 1997 as a sign of our commitment
to the ban."
The Minister noted that the Ottawa Conference had brought together a wide range of
participants. "We have all been struck by the dedication and dynamism brought to
the discussions by those whose lives have been directly affected by AP mines.
They have reminded us that the issue of AP mines is one of human, not military,
security. Their compelling stories challenge our sense of collective
responsibility to eliminate these terrible weapons."
The Ottawa conference concluded with the adoption of the "Ottawa Declaration" and
a Chairman's "Agenda for Action," which lists a number of global, regional and
national activities designed to advance a global ban on AP mines.
To begin, the consensus reached in Ottawa will contribute directly to a resolution
promoting an international agreement to ban AP mines at the 51st Session of the
United Nations General Assembly. Other events listed include a meeting of the
Organization of American States (OAS) at the end of October and a conference on
developing Canadian capacities in de-mining and providing humanitarian assistance
to victims, to be held in Winnipeg early next year. As well, there will be a
Fourth International Conference on Land Mines, to be held in Maputo, Mozambique,
February 1997, and a meeting on improving AP mine clearance technology in Tokyo in
March 1997. Belgium will host a follow-up to the Ottawa conference in June 1997.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Catherine Lappe
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
This document is also available on the Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
TOWARDS A GLOBAL BAN ON
ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES
DECLARATION OF THE OTTAWA CONFERENCE
Following consultations with relevant international agencies, international organizations,
and non-governmental organizations, the states represented at the Ottawa conference, the
"Ottawa Group," have agreed to enhance co-operation and co-ordination of efforts on the
basis of the following concerns and goals with respect to anti-personnel mines:
1. a recognition that the extreme humanitarian and socio-economic costs associated with
the use of anti-personnel mines requires urgent action on the part of the international
community to ban and eliminate this type of weapon.
2. a conviction that until such a ban is achieved, states must work to encourage universal
adherence to the prohibitions or restrictions on anti-personnel mines as contained in the
amended Protocol II of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.
3. an affirmation of the need to convince mine-affected states to halt all new deployments
of anti-personnel mines to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of mine-clearance
operations.
4. a recognition that the international community must provide significantly greater
resources to mine-awareness programs, mine-clearance operations, and victim assistance.
5. a commitment to work together to ensure:
- the earliest possible conclusion of a legally binding international agreement to ban anti-personnel mines;
- progressive reductions in new deployments of anti-personnel mines with the urgent
objective of halting all new deployments of anti-personnel mines;
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- support for a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 51 Resolution calling upon
member states, inter alia, to implement national moratoria, bans or other restrictions,
particularly on the operational use and transfer of anti-personnel mines at the earliest
possible date;
- regional and sub-regional activities in support of a global ban on anti-personnel mines;
and
- a follow-up conference hosted by Belgium in June 1997 to review the progress of the
international community in achieving a global ban on anti-personnel mines.
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TOWARDS A GLOBAL BAN ON
ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES
International Strategy Conference
Ottawa, October 3-5, 1996
CHAIRMAN'S AGENDA FOR ACTION ON
ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES
Participants at the Ottawa conference have reaffirmed their commitment to seek the
earliest possible conclusion of a legally binding agreement to ban the production,
stockpiling, transfer and use of Anti-Personnel (AP) mines. This agreement will be
achieved most rapidly through increased co-operation within the international community.
The purpose of the Ottawa conference was to catalyze practical efforts to move toward a
ban and create partnerships between states, international organizations and agencies, and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) essential to building the necessary political will to
achieve a global ban on AP mines.
The following Agenda for Action captures the dynamism of the discussions in Ottawa --
the recognition that movement toward a global ban has already begun --and details
concrete activities to be undertaken by the international community -- on an immediate and
urgent basis -- to build upon the Ottawa Declaration and to move this process ahead in
preparation for the follow-up meeting that will be hosted by Belgium in 1997.
This Agenda for Action reflects the interrelationship of the global-ban, mine-clearance and
victim-assistance agendas. It highlights the need to reach out beyond those who are
already committed to engage the broader international community in the global ban effort.
It also recognizes that action must be taken at the global, regional, sub-regional and
national levels to achieve a rapid global ban on AP mines.
A. Global Action
Building the necessary political will for a new, legally binding international agreement
banning AP mines will require more nations to adopt national bans or moratoria on the
production, stockpiling, use and transfer of AP mines. Nations that are not AP mine
producers should also consider adopting bans on the imports of AP mines.
These actions will also have the effect of reducing the total number of new deployments
of AP mines -- deployments that would create new victims and increase the costs of mine-clearance operations.
Global actions suggested by participants at this conference include:
1. The passage of a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 51 Resolution promoting an
international agreement to ban AP mines.
Recognizing that a key vehicle for building international support for a global ban will be the
development of overwhelming support for the resolution being proposed by the United
States at the current
session of the General Assembly, the participants identified the following activities as key
opportunities to develop political support for the resolution:
"potential co-sponsors" meeting - 10 October, New York
(4 pm, UN Conference Room 9)
Inter-Parliamentary Union Meeting at the UN - 22 October
Parliamentarians for Global Action - Annual General Meeting, October, New York
Land Mine Panel, NGO Committee on Disarmament, 24 October, New York
Work in regional or sub-regional groupings, as well as bilaterally, to build support for the
resolution
2. Build public awareness and political will for a global AP mine ban.
Building increased public awareness of the social, economic and human costs of AP mines
is essential to develop and sustain the necessary political will for a global AP mine ban.
Opportunities for building political will and public awareness include:
Launch of the Machel Study in response to Resolution A/RES/48/157 of the 48th
session of UNGA on the Impact of Armed Conflict (and Land Mines) on Children, at the
UN, New York, and by Archbishop Tutu in South Africa - 11 November, 1996
Adoption of the Machel Report by the UNGA and implementation of its
recommendations
Reports on progress in the development of national AP mines policies in national
reporting on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to the
Geneva-based Committee on the Rights of the Child
Engaging military experts in the study of the military utility/humanitarian costs of AP
mine use
Adding the AP mine issue to the agenda of appropriate United Nations forums
3. Encourage rapid entry into force and universal adherence to the prohibitions and
restrictions on AP mines as contained in the amended Protocol II of the Convention on
Certain Conventional Weapons.
4. Increased exchanges of information and data on AP mines and national AP mine policies
to build the confidence and transparency necessary for rapid progress toward a global AP
mine ban, including:
The development and publication of a global data-base on national AP mine policies (to
be circulated by Canada in the fall of 1996)
Studies by experts on the international production and legal and illicit trade of AP mines
5. To lay the necessary groundwork for a legally binding international agreement to ban AP
mines, Austria will produce a first draft and Canada will produce a possible framework for
the verification of such an agreement.
6. Suggested follow-up conferences to the Ottawa conference include:
Belgium, June 1997
Norway, Germany, Switzerland
B. Regional Action
Actions at the sub-regional and regional levels will be instrumental in catalyzing the
development of political will for a global ban on AP mines. To build upon the recent
decision by the Central American Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs to ban the
production, use and trade in AP mines -- thus creating the world's first regional AP mine-free zone -- participants at the conference suggested the following actions:
Increased funding for mine clearance and victim assistance for those regions and sub-regions that have taken concrete steps to create "AP mine-free zones."
Within Africa:
Efforts to enhance the de-mining capacities of African countries with priority given to
heavily mine-affected countries. This will include a Conference of African Experts in De-mining and Assistance to Victims of Land Mines (1997)
Meetings to engage military/national security experts on AP mines issues at the sub-regional level, including an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) seminar in
Southern Africa (1997)
4th International Campaign to Ban Landmines ( ICBL) Conference: Toward a Mine-Free
[Southern] Africa, Feb 25-28, 1997, Maputo, Mozambique
Work toward the implementation of the three-part program of the Union Inter-african des
droits de l'homme
Within Asia:
Meetings to engage military/national security experts on AP mines issues at the sub-regional level, including a planned ICRC/Philippines seminar (proposed for the first half of
1997)
ICBL Conference, 1998
Work toward consideration of AP mine issues within the ASEAN Regional Framework
(ARF), including an ARF intersessional meeting on De-mining for UN Peacekeepers, to be
held in New Zealand in March/April 1997
Within the Americas:
Defence Ministerial of the Americas, Bariloche, Argentina, October 6-9 -- seek support
for follow-up to the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly Resolution
on "The Western Hemisphere as an Anti-personnel Land Mine-free Zone"
Special meeting at the end of October or early November 1996 of the OAS committee
on Hemispheric Security to promote implementation of OAS General Assembly Resolution
"The Western Hemisphere as an Anti-personnel Land Mine-Free Zone," including:
- information exchanges on national AP mine policies
- provision of information to establish a hemispheric AP mine registry
Regional ICBL Conference - Fall 1997
Possible discussion in the Rio Group on AP mines under the topic of conventional arms
control
Meetings to engage military authorities on AP mines issues at the regional and sub-regional level
Include anti-personnel land mines trade in discussions on illicit traffic in arms
Encourage development of confidence-building measure regimes to replace AP mines in
border areas.
Within Europe:
Implementation by the European Union (EU) of the joint action on AP mines adopted by
the EU on 1 October 1996, in which the EU clearly asserts its determination to pursue the
total elimination of AP mines. To this end:
- the EU will pursue efforts to ensure full implementation of the results of the Review
Conference of the 1980 Convention on the one hand, and support for international efforts
to ban AP mines on the other hand;
- the EU is committed to the goal of the total elimination of AP mines and shall work
actively toward the achievement at the earliest possible date of an effective international
agreement to ban these weapons worldwide;
- the EU shall seek to raise without delay the issue of a total ban in the most appropriate
international forum;
- the Member States of the EU shall implement a common moratorium on the export of all
AP mines to all destinations and shall refrain from issuing new licences for the transfer of
technology to enable the manufacture of AP mines in third countries;
- EU Member States shall endeavour to implement national restrictions or bans additional to
those contained in Protocol II of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons;
- the EU will reinforce its contribution to international mine clearance. A budget of 7
million ECU is to be provided for initiatives to be launched in the period up to the end of
1997, in the form of contributions to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for assistance in mine
clearance and/or specific EU actions providing assistance for mine clearance in response to
the request of a regional organization or a third country's authorities. In addition, the
Commission of the European Community intends to continue the Community's support for
activity in the field of mine clearance in the context of humanitarian aid, reconstruction and
development co-operation.
The EU will invite the associate countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the associate
countries Cyprus and Malta and the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) country members of
the European Economic Area to align themselves with initiatives taken in pursuit of the
aims of its joint action.
Support will be sought within the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) for participating states to work toward a ban on all AP mines as soon as possible.
In addition, other European countries
- have taken concrete steps in terms of destroying their stocks of AP mines or have made
decisions to do so within a specific time-frame,
- are introducing national legal regulations prohibiting exports and imports of AP mines and
their components,
- are strengthening their capacity to carry out de-mining activities,
- are making contributions to strengthen the ability of the UN to initiate and co-ordinate de-mining activities in other regions, and
- in the field of developing de-mining technology, Norway has started a pilot mine-clearance program in the former Yugoslavia utilizing a new mechanical mine-clearance
machine
C. Land Mine Clearance, Mine Awareness and Victim Assistance
Delegates highlighted the need to take special action to deal with the humanitarian crisis
caused by AP mines, while recognizing that without a ban, mine-clearance and victim-assistance programs will always be insufficient to deal with the crisis.
In this regard, in addition to the announcement by many states of increased financial
commitments to clearance, awareness and assistance efforts, the following specific
initiatives and ideas were discussed to foster international technical co-operation and to
make further progress to improve and share mine-clearance technology, equipment and
expertise; to improve mine-awareness efforts and to enhance victim-assistance programs.
These initiatives include:
Meeting of Technical Experts on De-mining Technology in preparation for the Tokyo
meeting - Germany, early 1997
Development of Canadian capacities in humanitarian de-mining and assistance to victims
- Winnipeg, Canada - early 1997
De-mining and victim assistance - Tokyo, March 1997
Co-operation on victim assistance (offer by Canada-Mexico, Cuba, and South Africa of
their expertise)
Increased international co-operation in AP mine stockpile destruction
Efforts to develop standard procedures for mine-awareness education
Include consideration of humanitarian mine clearance within peace accords
Strengthen the efforts by Central America to achieve a land-mine free zone by the year
2000
Establishment of a centre at James Madison University to act as a database to assist in
co-ordinating international de-mining efforts
Submission by the Presidency of the European Union of an UNGA 51 Resolution on
assistance with mine clearance
In addition to the above, a number of countries indicated that other events are being
planned and that appropriate details will soon be forthcoming.
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