| Statement by Ambassador Hu Xiaodi, Head of the Chinese Delegation, at the Fifth Annual Conference of the States Parties to the Amended Landmine Protocol to the CCW (26 November 2003, Geneva) |
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| 2004/04/16 |
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Mr. Chairman,
At the outset, please allow me on behalf of the Chinese delegation to congratulate you on your election to the chairmanship of this conference. The Chinese delegation will fully cooperate with you and other delegations.
Mr. Chairman,
Since the Amended Landmine Protocol entered into force five years ago, the number of its state parties rose from 20 at the initial stage to 73 at present, including all major landmine producers and users. It is playing a more and more significant role in addressing the humanitarian concerns caused by landmines. At the same time, the universality of the Protocol is not yet satisfactory. We are convinced that with the joint efforts of all state parties, the Protocol will attract more and more countries' accession and will be implemented effectively.
In the past two years, certain state parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) have been proposing to negotiate a protocol on mines other than anti-personnel landmines (also known as AVL). The Chinese delegation believes that the Amended Landmine Protocol has already covered all mines, including AVL. Its provisions on AVL are a realistic solution that has struck a balance between the humanitarian concerns and states' legitimate military needs and has taken into account the divergence among countries in terms of economic and technological capacity. If the relevant provisions can be effectively implemented, the humanitarian concerns over AVL will be solved to a great extent. Therefore, the key to address the AVL issue is to improve the universality of the Amended Landmine Protocol and to ensure its fullest implementation.
Mr. Chairman,
We recognize that like the Amended Landmine Protocol, the Ottawa Convention is also of great significance for solving the problem of civilian casualties caused by anti-personnel landmines (APLs). In recent years, the state parties to the Ottawa Convention have also been striving to address the humanitarian problem caused by APLs. Although China is not a party to the Ottawa Convention, we endorse its objective and share its ultimate goal of banning APLs. We express our respect and appreciation to the state parties to the Ottawa Convention that have chosen to address the humanitarian concerns caused by APLs through banning this type of weapon. In September this year, China sent an observer delegation to the Fifth Meeting of the State Parties to the Ottawa Convention held in Bangkok, Thailand, thus enhancing the contact and understanding between China and the state parties to the Ottawa Convention. The non-membership to the Ottawa Convention has not hindered China's efforts to enhance exchanges and cooperation with the state parties to the Ottawa Convention to alleviate harm done to civilians by APLs.
Mr. Chairman,
Since China ratified the Amended Landmine Protocol in 1998, it has faithfully fulfilled all its obligations under the Protocol, by exercising stringent control over landmines from its production to use and taking extreme caution and prudence in the actual use of landmines within its borders. At the same time, China has taken an active part in international demining assistance programmes, thus making concrete contributions to the solution of landmine problems.
Since last Annual Conference, China has continued to strengthen its dissemination and education program domestically on the implementation of the Amended Landmine Protocol. It has made more efforts on the training program for the military officers to improve their awareness and understanding of the provisions of the Protocol. In April this year, the Chinese Army held a meeting on the dissemination and education on the implementation of the Protocol, with a view to enhancing the military's awareness of the Protocol. The Chinese Army organized more than ten sessions of technical training courses on the landmine destruction for those military personnel who conduct such work to ensure safe and reliable destruction. At the same time, China has continued to destroy old mines that are not in conformation with the technical requirements of the Protocol. So far over 400,000 old mines have been destroyed. In addition, the demining work to assist boarder delimiting is being carried out in an orderly way on the Chinese side near the China-Vietnam boarder.
China has also continued to participate in international demining assistance. In November 2002, the Chinese Government donated a number of demining equipment to Lebanon to assist its humanitarian demining project. After sending a group of experts to Eritrea for on-site training and instruction on demining in 2002, the Chinese Government sent a second group of 18 experienced demining experts to Eritrea from March to June this year. After 35 working days of theoretical training and 20 working days of on-site instruction on demining, 60 Eritrean deminers were trained, who cleared 103,000 square meters minefield safely and efficiently and removed 587 mines and other unexploded ordnance. China joined the Mine Action Supporting Group in New York this year. It has actively participated in the meetings of this group, with a view to better contributing to international demining assistance programs through the exchanges and cooperation with the member states of the Group.
As a developing country, China is limited in its financial resources for demining assistance. However, through practice, it has accumulated abundant experience and a large number of well-trained and well-experienced demining personnel. Meanwhile, we have also explored and established a complete set of demining methods applicable to a variety of geographical environments, and have developed a series of safe, efficient, easy-to-use and inexpensive demining equipment. We are ready to enhance our exchanges and cooperation with all countries, so as to help mine-affected countries to get rid of landmine problems as soon as possible.
A documentary about "China's Demining Assistance to Eritrea" will be shown this afternoon (about 15 minutes) and I hope you will enjoy it.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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