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Statement by Ambassador Sha Zukang, head of the Chinese Delegation, at the Fourth Annual Conference of the States Parties to the Amended Landmine Protocol
11 December 2002
Geneva
Mr. President,
At the outset, please allow me on behalf of the Chinese
delegation to congratulate you on your election to the
Presidency of this conference. I am convinced that with
your outstanding diplomatic skills and experience, you
will steer the conference to a success. My delegation
will fully support your work.
Mr. President,
A military expert once said that the most indelible
marks left over by war are not collapsed buildings and
ruined bridges but landmines. The landmine issue once
became a focal point of the international community,
touching upon the heartstrings of politicians, military
experts and all the other people who love peace and care
about human security. In light of the lofty humanitarian
spirit, the states parties pondered upon and cooperated
extensively on the landmine issue, and finally concluded
the amended Landmine Protocol through serious
negotiations. Striking a balance between the
humanitarian concerns and states’ legitimate military
needs, the Protocol effectively resolved humanitarian
problems caused by landmines through appropriate
restrictions on the use of landmines and de-mining
operations, and at the same time, accommodated the
legitimate security concerns of countries. The pressing
task for us now is to enhance the universality of and
compliance with the Protocol.
Since the amended Landmine Protocol entered into force
four years ago, its universality has improved as the
number of states parties rose from twenty at the initial
stage to nearly seventy at present, including all major
landmine producers and users. The cooperation among the
states parties has been deepening and the influence of
the Protocol has been widening. At the same time, it is
worthy to note that the universality of the Protocol is
not yet satisfactory. We are convinced that with the
further enhancement of its universality, the potential
of the Protocol will be tapped to the full and the
Protocol will play an even greater role in addressing
the landmine issue. We would like to call upon those
countries that have not yet acceded to the Protocol to
do so as soon as possible and urge all the states
parties to make unremitting efforts to improve the
universality of the Protocol.
Mr. President,
On the issue of landmines, there has been an argument
for a long time over whether we should totally ban
landmines or set appropriate restrictions on the use of
landmines. In fact, the two aspects are not
contradictory to each other. The landmine ban is our
ultimate goal while restrictions on the use of landmines
serve as the realistic choice at current stage. At the
conference titled “A Disarmament Agenda for the
Twenty-first Century” co-sponsored by the Chinese
Government and the UN in Beijing last April, Ms. Jody
Williams, who made outstanding contribution to the
solution of landmine problem, explained the relationship
between idealism and realism in the arms control realm.
As a matter of fact, the lofty ideal of arms control is
never denied, and the current realistic efforts should
not be given up just because that ideal cannot be
realized for the time being due to various reasons. The
relationship between landmine ban and restrictions on
the use of landmines is likewise. Both of them serve the
same goal, that is to say, to create a safe environment
free of the threat of landmines for human beings to
live. The appropriate restrictions on the use of
landmines as contained in the Amended Landmine Protocol
are no other than realistic efforts by the states
parties towards the ultimate elimination of the scourge
of landmines.
Mr. President,
Since China ratified the amended Landmine Protocol
in1998, it has strictly abided by the provisions of the
Protocol and faithfully fulfilled all its obligations.
To implement the Protocol, it is of great importance to
guarantee the qualification of military personnel who
are the user of landmines. In recent years, the Chinese
military has carried out a series of training programs
for all ranks of officers and related personnel to
improve their awareness and understanding of the
provisions of the Protocol and relevant knowledge. To
put the Protocol into practice, the Chinese military has
formulated a series of new military standards according
to the technical specifications on landmines and related
equipments as contained in the Protocol, and has
accelerated the transformation of the old landmines to
make them meet the requirements of the Protocol.
Meanwhile, those old landmines that are not in
conformation with the technical requirements of the
Protocol are being destroyed by stages and in groups.
Moreover, since April 1996, China has stringently abided
by its commitment to the moratorium on the export of
anti-personnel landmines incompatible with the technical
specifications contained in the amended Landmine
Protocol. Such commitment has been incorporated into the
revised Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on
the Administration of Arms Export this year.
One of the key aspects for resolving the humanitarian
concerns caused by landmines is to clear those deployed
landmines incompatible with the provisions of the
amended Landmine Protocol. China has made enormous
efforts in international de-mining assistance to the
best of its capabilities. As a developing country, we
still earmarked certain funds from its limited financial
resources to aid mine-stricken countries, so as to
contribute to the alleviation of civilian casualties
caused by landmines with concrete actions. Following
last year’s donation of mine detecting and clearing
equipments to seven mine-stricken countries, including
Angola, Cambodia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia
and Rwanda, China donated this year de-mining equipments
to Eritrea and is planning to make such donation to
Lebanon as well. Moreover, the Chinese Government sent a
group of de-mining experts to Eritrea for on-site
training and instruction on de-mining operation. Through
the above-mentioned efforts, we hope to pass on our
effective de-mining experience and methods to
mine-stricken countries to enhance their de-mining
capabilities. In November this year, we also sent a
group of de-mining experts to Afghanistan to conduct a
survey on the local landmine problem in some areas. I
would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the
willingness of the Chinese Government to continue to
carry out exchanges and cooperation with interested
countries and international organizations in
humanitarian de-mining assistance, so as to make further
contributions to the international de-mining efforts.
As we did last year, in order to make China’s efforts in
implementing the Protocol better known to other
countries, we have not only submitted the annual
national report according to Article 13 of the Protocol,
but also produced a TV documentary on China’s
implementation of the Protocol. The VCD copies of this
document are available to interested delegations upon
request.
In conclusion, I wish this conference a complete
success.
Thank you, Mr. President.
[Source: Permanent Mission of the People's
Republic of China to the United Nations office at Geneva
and other International Organizations in Switzerland.]
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