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Mr. President,
At the outset, please allow me to congratulate you, on behalf of the Chinese Delegation, on your election to the Presidency of this Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties. We are confident that, with your wisdom and rich diplomatic experience, the conference will surely be steered to a success. I assure you of my delegation’s full support to your work.
Mr. President,
The Amended Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and other Devices annexed to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (hereinafter referred to as “the Amended Protocol”) represents the earliest international legal instrument which provides for restrictions on anti-personnel landmines (APLs). The revision of the Protocol was concluded in 1996 on the basis of extensive consultations supported by many countries which produce and use landmines. 44 countries have hitherto ratified the Amended Protocol and we hope that more and more states will accede to it. Indeed, this Amended Protocol merits great attention from the international community.
The experience over the last three years has shown that, the Amended Protocol has played and will continue to play an important role in restricting APLs. By further restricting the use and transfer of the APLs, especially by adopting measures such as setting out additional standards for detectability, self-destruction and self-deactivation and further improving minefield recording, the Amended Protocol serves effectively to prevent the indiscriminate use of landmines and lessen their threat to civilians and to people’s life and production activities in peaceful times.
Mr. President,
At present, there are two parallel international legal instruments concerning landmines, i.e. the Amended Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and other Devices annexed to the CCW Convention and the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (hereinafter referred to as “the Ottawa Convention”?. It should be pointed out that the Amended Protocol and the Ottawa Convention share the very same purpose, that is, to reduce and remove the threat of APLs to civilians. These two legal instruments, we believe, have made their respective contributions to reducing the civilian casualties. By the same token, the above two legal instruments are not mutually exclusive, but rather reinforcing and complementary to each other. A difference lies in the fact that, in catering for the interests and concerns of the relevant sovereign states, the Amended Protocol gives full consideration to both their humanitarian concerns and their legitimate security requirements, and strikes a balance between the two. Whereas the Ottawa Convention, based solely on humanitarian concerns, opts for a total ban of landmines as its basic purpose. While fully respecting the sovereign choice made by the States Parties to the Ottawa Convention, we believe that, in addressing the problem of APLs, all countries should proceed from their respective situation and work to seek common grounds while putting aside their differences. Given its clear-cut mandate, we believe that this conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Protocol is not a forum to discuss which of the two legal instruments is superior, the Amended Protocol or the Ottawa Convention.
Mr. President,
We note with regret that, a major problem faced by the Protocol since its revision is the lack of universality. 44 countries have already ratified the Protocol. However, there are some countries which not only need APLs for self-defense, but also are prone to be affected by landmines are yet to accede to the Protocol. In addition, some other countries are still in the process of ratifying the Protocol. It is common knowledge that, the legal effect and validity of a multilateral international legal instrument, no matter how perfect it is, will be compromised without the wide participation by the international community, especially the adherence of those countries which are directly related with the purposes and objectives of the above legal instrument. In this context, it is imperative to promote the universality of the Amended Protocol. The more countries join the rank of its State Parties, the better.
It is our belief that, to further revise the newly-amended Protocol will cause confusion and difficulties on the part of those States which are in the process of ratifying the Protocol, thus detrimental to promoting the Protocol’s universality. It will also make the Protocol’ s States Parties confused and add difficulty in the implementation. In addition, it would be equally unwise to expand the scope of application of the Protocol and set out additional technical standards pending the Amended Protocol achieves universality and effective implementation.
Mr. President,
Attaching great importance to addressing the humanitarian concerns over the civilian casualties caused by the indiscriminate use of landmines, the Chinese government supports the strict compliance with restrictions placed on APLs as provided in the Amended Protocol, so as to eliminate APL’s threat to civilians. We maintain that, in addressing the humanitarian concern, consideration should be also given to the legitimate self-defense requirements of sovereign countries. The humanitarian concern caused by the indiscriminate use of landmines is partially attributable to the inherent lacunae of old-types of landmines. However, the role played by landmines in safeguarding countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity cannot be denied. Given the wide diversity of various countries’ conditions, it is natural that the levels of weaponry they possess and their security environment also differ greatly. We can not overlook this fact. In line with this , the Chinese delegation holds that the Amended Protocol has provided the most appropriate ways and means to address the landmine issue. In passing, I would avail myself of this opportunity to express my congratulations to those countries which no longer need APLs and thus are in the position to accede to the Ottawa Convention.
Mr. President,
The civilians casualties caused by the indiscriminate use of landmines can be attributed to the following: the lacunae of old-type landmines and their indiscriminate use and the inefficiency in post-war demining. Therefore, to address the above problem, it is desirable to take a two-prong approach, i.e. “mine restriction” and “mine clearance”. In this connection, the Chinese Government has taken concrete measures on those fronts.
As for mine restriction, the Amended Protocol has provided necessary regulations, which could rectify the lacunae of old-typed landmine if implemented in full and earnest. China submitted its instrument of ratification to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in November last year. Over the past year, the Chinese government and the Armed Forces have strictly complied with and actively implemented the Protocol. In a bid to enhance the awareness of the public and the Army, information about the Protocol has been disseminated to both civilians and the Armed Forces through media and other channels. Brochures have been distributed to units of the Armed Forces. China is transforming and disposing the APLs which are not in conformity with the provisions of the Amended Protocol. In addition, it has undertaken some research on possible alternatives to APLs, and has destroyed over 1.7 million old-type APLs.
In order to eliminate the threat of landmines to civilians, the Chinese Government has also stepped up in its post-war demining efforts, both domestically and internationally. From early 1992 to August 1999, the Chinese Government launched two large-scale demining operations on the Chinese territory along the Chinese-Vietnamese border, clearing an area of over 300 square kilometers, eliminating the threat posed to the local people by the landmines leftover from the border conflict. In addition, according to the provisions of the Protocol on technical cooperation and assistance, the Chinese Government has made tremendous efforts in providing international demining assistance. China has donated to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance and provided demining equipment to mine-affected countries. In collaboration with the United Nations, China has sponsored an international demining training workshop in October this year for trainees from mine-affected countries such as Cambodia, Namibia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. China will sponsor more workshops of this kind in the future.
The Chinese Government has submitted its annual report to the UN Secretary General last October outlining China’s implementation of the Protocol. We hope this report will promote understanding on China’s implementation of the Protocol.
Mr. President,
This Conference represents the first annual meeting by the High Contracting Parties to the Amended Protocol. It is our sincere hope that, by reviewing the Protocol and its implementation, this conference will promote full implementation of the Protocol, and contribute to achieving the Protocol’s universality. Thus, the Protocol will play a more effective role in protecting civilians.
Thank you, Mr. President.
This
material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin
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