STATEMENT BY H.E. DR. KUNIKO INOGUCHI,
AMBASSADOR OF JAPAN TO THE CONFERENCE
ON DISARMAMENT
The Meeting of the States Parties
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
12 December, 2002, Geneva
Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished delegates,
At the outset allow me to congratulate you on your election as Chairman of the Meeting of the States Parties to the CCW. The initiation of this structured process to follow up on the Second Review Conference last year demonstrates the firm commitment of all States Parties to implementing and strengthening this important Convention. Please be assured of the full support of my delegation for your chairmanship. We are confident that the States Parties will be able to reach a successful outcome under your able guidance. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to both of the Coordinators, Ambassador Chris Sanders and Mr. Peter Kolarov, for their hard work that has enabled the Group of Governmental Experts to agree on a fruitful outcome.
Mr. Chairman,
The CCW is of particular importance in the area of international humanitarian law. This Convention allows States parties to effectively and practically address the humanitarian problems caused by certain conventional weapons without compromising legitimate security requirements. This unique character allows the Convention and its annexed Protocols to enjoy adherence by a wide range of States, including those with large conventional arsenals. Such wide adherence significantly contributes to global humanitarian efforts. Japan strongly hopes that this Convention will be further strengthened by the full compliance of the States parties and wider adherence.
The CCW is also flexible enough to respond to a variety of humanitarian problems, including the emerging humanitarian concerns related to conventional weapons. The Second Review Conference in December 2001 adopted an amendment to Article 1 of the Convention to extend the scope of application of the Convention and its annexed Protocols to internal conflicts. This step will further enhance the effectiveness of the Convention. In view of the importance of early entry into force of the amendment, my government is now taking necessary steps toward ratification.
Japan attaches great importance to Amended Protocol II as it is an effective instrument to alleviate human suffering caused by the irresponsible use of mines. It stipulates a standard for detectability of anti-personnel mines and self-destruction and self-deactivation of remotely-delivered anti-personnel mines. It also contains significant measures on all types of mines in certain aspects, including mine-clearance. We hope that the universality of this important protocol will be further promoted. At the same time, Japan is a State party to the Ottawa Convention that totally bans anti-personnel landmines (APLs), and hopes that this Convention will become universal and that ultimately human tragedies caused by APLs will be completely eradicated.
Mr. Chairman,
Now, I would like to present the views of my government on the work of the Group of Governmental Experts.
Firstly, with regard to the issue of mines other than anti-personnel mines, the international community should make utmost efforts to minimise the humanitarian risks as well as the social and economic problems caused by such mines. My delegation believes that the Group of Governmental Experts of the CCW is the most appropriate forum to deal with this issue. The basic position of my country is to negotiate a protocol on mines other than anti-personnel mines, and we believe that the twelve-nation proposal represents the most practical and effective approach. Although the mandate for next year agreed by the Group of Governmental Experts falls short of our expectations, I believe that it will allow States parties to engage in a meaningful exercise towards our common humanitarian goal.
My country is also interested in discussing how to address humanitarian concerns caused by anti-vehicle mines equipped with certain sensitive fuzes that can be actuated by persons, including civilians, in a non-discriminate manner. We support the initiative taken by the delegation of Germany in this regard and will engage in consultations with this delegation.
Secondly, my delegation is of the view that it is an urgent priority to address the humanitarian problems arising from explosive remnants of war. We are therefore glad that the Group of Governmental Experts has agreed on a negotiating mandate for the work of next year, and certainly hope that an effective instrument will be adopted as early as possible.
Thirdly, an effective compliance mechanism should be created. Such a mechanism should provide an adequate guarantee of compliance with the Convention and its protocols, however it should not cause an excessive financial burden on the States parties. We will consider further the three proposals put on the table and hope that some progress will be made next year on this issue.
Thank you.