It is a great pleasure for me to make some remarks, on behalf of the Government of Japan, at this Annual Conference of the States Parties to the Amended Protocol Ⅱto the CCW.

At the outset I would like to congratulate you on your election as President and assure you my delegation's full support and cooperation throughout the Conference. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the staff members of the UN Secretariat for all their efforts to ensure the efficient and smooth proceeding of this Conference.

The Amended Protocol Ⅱ, which was adopted in May 1996, is an important building-block that could solve the problems of mines. It not only deals with anti-personnel mines but also with other types of mines, including anti-vehicle mines and booby-traps. It significantly restricts the use of anti-personnel mines by many of those states that have not yet acceded to the Ottawa Convention. In addition the Protocol contains important provisions including the application to internal conflicts and the prohibition of the transfer of certain anti-personnel mines.

Having said this, from the point of view of Japan which ratified the Protocol in 1997, such issues as effective compliance measures and restriction on the use of mines other than anti-personnel mines still need to be addressed. Useful discussions have been held on these remaining issues during the first Annual Conference of the States Parties in 1999 and subsequently in the experts' meeting this year. Necessary improvements should be made in a practical way through the review process.

This Protocol does not totally ban the transfer of anti-personnel mines. We should not neglect the reality that those non-ratifiers of the Ottawa Convention are not legally prohibited from transferring certain types of such mines. There has been discussion on how to achieve an international legally binding ban on transfer of anti-personnel mines. Japan is flexible in this respect. It can be done either at the Conference on Disarmament or in the context of the CCW review process.

The universality of the Amended Protocol Ⅱ should be further enhanced although it is remarkable that the number of the ratifiers of the Protocol now counts fifty-seven. We should encourage those states that have not yet ratified it to do so as soon as possible. In this regard, I am pleased to note that the Parliament of South Korea is now deliberating the Protocol. Japan also organized a seminar on the problems of mines in Asia in cooperation with a NGO in November. I believe this seminar helped to enhance awareness of the CCW among the non-ratifiers in Asia. Japan will continue to make such efforts regionally and globally.　

The first meeting of the Preparatory Committee will be held subsequently to this Conference. I strongly hope that in-depth discussions will be held on a range of issues, from the Amended Protocol Ⅱ to the entire framework of the CCW. The States Parties should consider how they will be able to achieve both goals -- complying with the principle of the protection of the civilian population in armed conflict and other principles of humanity, and maintaining legitimate self-defense. Japan will do its best to work together with other states for the success of the Review Conference next year.

Japan has recently appointed a special advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs on the problems of mines. Mrs. Kurokouchi, former Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament, has assumed this new position in the field where the international community is becoming more active. Japan is determined to continue to play a leading role in the global efforts to tackle these persistent problems caused by mines.