Statement by H.E. Dr. Kuniko Inoguchi

Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament

Fifth Annual Conference of the States Parties to Amended Protocol II 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

Geneva, 26 November 2003

Mr. President,

Distinguished delegates,

It is a great pleasure for me to address on behalf of the Government of Japan at the Fifth Annual Meeting of High Contracting Parties to the Amended Protocol II 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.

At the outset, allow me to extend our warmest congratulations to you, Mr. President, on your assumption of the Presidency of this important meeting. Please be assured of the full support of my delegation for your guidance, which I trust will lead us most efficiently to a successful conclusion. I would also like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to the secretariat of this meeting for their indispensable assistance.

Mr. President,

Amended Protocol II was adopted in 1996 as a milestone achievement at the First Review Conference of the CCW. Since then, the number of its High Contracting Parties has steadily increased and reached more than seventy countries. It is significant that those States are all committed to many substantive provisions contained in this Protocol. The Protocol provides very specific and prescriptive obligations for High Contracting Parties, not only to render their mines detectable, but also to equip their remotely delivered mines with self-destruction or self-deactivation mechanisms. The prohibition of transfer of mines, the use of which is prohibited under this Protocol will also prevent the scourge of mines from growing in States non-party areas. All these provisions show the great advantage of this Protocol which strikes a right balance between the national security requirements of the respective High Contracting Parties and the global humanitarian interest in reducing and eradicating the humanitarian problems posed by mines.

Mr. President,

Japan has been doing its utmost to alleviate overall problems of mines towards a goal of “Zero Victims”. Japan pledged in 1998 to extend assistance of ten billion yen over five years for de-mining, victim assistance and other mine action activities and has provided assistance to a variety of projects in 25 affected countries and areas since then. The 1998 pledge was fully implemented by the end of October 2002. I am also pleased to note that Japan’s total contribution to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Actions has reached over 23 million US dollars this July, which has made my country the largest donor for this Trust Fund.

The Government of Japan has launched a very ambitious project of developing demining equipment in cooperation with private companies and researchers with the help and advice of mine-affected countries. We hope that the state-of-the-art technologies of Japanese private companies will contribute to efficient and effective demining activities very soon.

Mr. President,

The number of the States Parties to the Mine Ban Convention now exceeds 130. It is notable that such a wide range of countries are determined to eliminate their anti-personnel mines. Japan fully supports the Convention with a firm commitment to implementing all its obligations and to promoting the Convention’s universalization. Moreover, Japan has become a co-chair of the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies.

Nonetheless, Japan fully recognizes the unique position of Amended Protocol II in international humanitarian law. The Protocol embraces those countries which are not yet party to the Convention, despite their major stocks of anti-personnel mines, and commits them to refrain from engaging in the irresponsible use of mines. The Mine Ban Convention and the Protocol complement each other like “two wheels of a cart” to resolve mine problems.

Japan strongly hopes that the Amended Protocol II will be ratified by even more countries, particularly by those States in the regions afflicted by armed conflicts. Japan welcomes all new High Contracting Parties who have acceded to the Protocol since last year’s meeting. We believe that the successive meaningful annual meetings have helped to bring about such visible progress.

All High Contracting Parties must fully implement their obligations under the Protocol. In this regard, compliance measures should be considered and the proposal made by the United States merits serious consideration.

Further, Japan welcomes the momentum generated by the success of the Amended Protocol II, which has now led us to meaningful deliberations on appropriate measures to deal with the problems of mines other than anti-personnel mines in a more comprehensive manner than in the Amended Protocol II. Japan is fully committed to making contributions to the further development of the CCW.

Thank you.