Meeting of the High Contracting 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 21 November 2017 Original: English Geneva, 22 24 November 2017 Item 16 of the revised provisional agenda Consideration of the report of the Implementation Support Unit Report of the Implementation Support Unit Submitted by the Implementation Support Unit A. Introduction 1. This report is a combination of two reports i.e. the report on universalization of the CCW and its Protocols and the report of the ISU, summarizing the activities of the Unit from 1 January to 31 October 2017. 1 B. Universalization of the Convention and its annexed Protocols 2. Since the Fifth Review Conference, two States have joined the framework Convention, which brings the total number of High Contracting Parties to 125. On 5 April 2017, Lebanon joined the Convention and Protocol I, Amended Protocol II and Protocol III. On 9 August 2017, Afghanistan joined the Convention along with the amendment to Article 1, Protocols I, III, IV and V and Amended Protocol II. On 21 September 2017, Benin joined the amendment to Article 1 of the Convention. 3. The ISU assisted Estonia, in its capacity as President-designate of the Protocol V Eleventh Conference this year, by providing a list of target States, preparing background notes and talking points for bilateral meetings to approach representatives of the following States which are not yet party to Protocol V or to the Convention: Azerbaijan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Turkey. Estonia undertook a serious effort in promoting universalization and approached target countries in parallel both in Geneva and in the capital cities or through its permanent mission to the United Nations in New York. The ISU was provided with a detailed report on the outcomes of those bilateral meetings, which will be very useful for the ISU for future efforts on universalization. This underlines the importance of following up with and tackling challenging situations of States that have yet to join Protocol V and the Convention to develop strategies for outreach. 4. The ISU assisted Colombia, in its capacity as President-designate of the Amended Protocol II Nineteenth Annual Conference this year, to approach representatives of the 1 Final Document of the Fifth Review Conference, CCW/CONF.V/10, paragraphs 17-20 and 26-28.
following States not party to the Convention: Kenya Lebanon, prior to it becoming High Contracting Party to the Convention; and Myanmar. 5. The ISU continued to support the efforts of the officeholders to promote universalization. This included ensuring that the CCW and its Protocols were highlighted during the United Nations Treaty Event 2017 at United Nations Headquarters; 2 drafting briefs on joining the CCW; and organizing bilateral meetings with States not yet party to the Convention. Moreover, the ISU continued to coordinate with the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs on countries joining the CCW. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland followed up with some countries on the submission of their instrument of ratification. 6. The ISU continued to promote the CCW and disseminate information on its purpose and objectives. For instance, the ISU provided a briefing at a Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) seminar of donor countries. The Unit also made presentations to the following groups of students and delegations of Member States visiting the United Nations Office at Geneva: University of Fribourg, Survey of International Organizations, Winter 2017 (WSIO), 12 January 2017; Delegation of Germany (Bundeswehr Verification Centre, Geilenkirchen), 22 February 2017; Geneva Academy, 4 April 2017; Delegation of Pakistan (a group of 10 senior officials), 17 May 2017; Kennesaw State University, United States of America, 18 May 2017; United Nations Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament, including running a practical exercise on international humanitarian law (IHL) application with the fellows, 24 August 2017. C. The Work of the Implementation Support Unit 7. The ISU was established by the 2009 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention. 3 The Unit is located in the Geneva Branch of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), which subsidizes the ISU through a range of services which include, financial, logistical, administrative and personnel management. The Branch also facilitates the ISU s compliance with United Nations rules and regulations so as to enhance its effective functioning. The Branch is instrumental in coordinating and liaising with the United Nations Office in Geneva s relevant services supporting the organization of CCW meetings and conferences. The United Nations Office at Geneva spend significant resources to support and preserve the effective and efficient delivery of the mandate bestowed upon the 2 https://treaties.un.org/doc/source/events/2017/treaties/treaties_english.pdf. 3 Final report, CCW/MSP/2009/5, paragraphs 34 to 37: to operate in the most efficient way and [...] perform the following tasks: (a) Provide administrative support to and prepare documentation for meetings agreed by the meetings of the High Contracting Parties to the CCW, Amended Protocol II and Protocol V; (b) Facilitate communications among High Contracting Parties and, upon request, with international organizations; (c) Serve as a focal point for submission of information by and to the High Contracting Parties related to the Convention and its annexed Protocols; develop and maintain the CCW website and the CCW databases as directed by the annual Meetings of the High Contracting Parties; (d) Support the High Contracting Parties, on request, in the implementation of the CCW and its Protocols and assist the Secretary-General of the United Nations in the discharge of his/her responsibilities pursuant to Article 11 (2) of Protocol V, Article 14 (4) of Amended Protocol II and the CCW Compliance mechanism; (e) Contribute to the promotion of the universalization of the CCW and its annexed Protocols and support the High Contracting Parties in the implementation of the CCW Plan of Action for the Universalization of the CCW and its Protocols and the CCW Sponsorship Programme; (f) Perform any other duty as mandated by the High Contracting Parties of the CCW or its Protocols. 2
United Nations to support CCW meetings, activities and conferences. The ISU has two staff members: Mr. Bantan Nugroho, Head of the Unit, and Ms. Hine-Wai Loose, Political Affairs Officer. The ISU has been assisted by other UNODA staff members and interns throughout the year. 8. The ISU has pursued its tasks in accordance with its mandate and has submitted annual reports to the Meetings of the High Contracting Parties and to the Fifth Review Conference from 2012 to 2016. 4 D. Support for the informal meetings 9. In preparation for the planned experts meetings in April and August 2017, the ISU supported all the activities of the annual office holders for the Convention. This support included setting out strategies for the office holders (except on lethal autonomous weapons systems), drafting and issuing communication to the High Contracting Parties, international organizations and NGOs; setting up informal briefings, drafting reports, preparing briefings for the office holders and coordinators; and organized a briefing for delegations in preparation for the meetings. However, due to the financial situation, the three meetings that were planned for April were pushed back to August, and then eventually cancelled altogether. 10. Subsequently, the ISU provided limited assistance to several delegations with organizing a series of informal activities: (a) On 28 August, Estonia convened an informal meeting on Protocol V implementation, focusing on Article 4 and national reporting. The ISU organized the panelists drafted the brief for the President and made a presentation on the status of the implementation of Article 4; (b) On 29 August, informal consultations on Mines other than anti-personnel mines (MOTAPM) were co-organized by UNODA, United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD). The ISU worked closely with the organizers of this event, including assisting with putting together the programme and the speakers; (c) On 30 August, Germany in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) held informal consultations on Explosive weapons in populated areas, which was followed by an informal meeting dedicated as a contribution to the Lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) discussion in the CCW: Technology and Military Use of Autonomous Weapons Systems Preliminary Findings of the International Panel on the Regulation of Autonomous Weapons (ipraw). The ISU provided administrative and logistical support to the German delegation; (d) On 31 August, France and Colombia convened an open-ended, informal consultations on Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The ISU assisted the officeholders in contacting the list of presenters and provided a presentation on the IED online information hub which is hosted by UNODA headquarters. 5 4 See CCW/MSP/2012/8, CCW/MSP/2013/5, CCW/MSP/2014/7, CCW/MSP/2015/6, and CCW/CONF.V/7. 5 www.un.org/disarmament/ieds 3
E. Support for the Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention 11. In advance of this year s Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention (Geneva, 22 to 24 November 2017), the ISU assisted the Chairperson-elect, with organizing informal, open-ended meetings on 31 March, 30 May, 31 August and 25 September 2017. These informal meetings focused on the financial situation of the Convention and preparations ahead of the November meetings. F. Support for the Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems 12. The ISU assisted the Chair of the process with preparing for the first GGE on LAWS 6 The ISU assisted the Chair with preparing the agenda and food-for-thought paper; assisted the Chair with his briefs; assisted in identifying experts; coordinated with international organizations, NGOs and academics on their participation; updated the LAWS webpage, and assisted the Chair with media briefings and inquiries. During and following the GGE, the ISU supported the Chair in carrying out his responsibilities. G. Support for Amended Protocol II on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-traps and Other devices 13. The ISU assisted the President-designate in organizing the annual conference on Amended Protocol II, including preparing briefs for the office holders and coordinators on the substantive issues and organizing administrative support. On the operation and status of the Protocol, the ISU assisted the coordinator (Hungary) in providing partial assessment of the Form G (information to the United Nations database on mine clearance) of the national reports that have been submitted, given that the Group of Experts did not meet this year due to financial reasons. This task is expected to be completed on the following year upon the agreement of the High Contracting Parties to continue with the current mandate. On improvised explosive devices (IED), the ISU assisted the coordinator (France) in approaching the panelists and provided guidance in the preparation of their presentations. The ISU participated and provided briefings on the complex work on IED undertaken by the High Contracting Parties to Amended Protocol II and at the CCW review Conferences from 2009 to 2017, at the following meetings and workshops focusing on the importance of mitigating the global threat of IED: (a) Examining the Roles, Responsibilities and Potential Contributions of Private Sector Industry Actors in Stemming the Flow of IEDs and Related Materials, hosted by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and supported by France (Geneva, 6-7 March 2017); (b) Clearance of IED in the Middle East (Wilton Park, 22-24 May 2017); (c) IEDs: Two years after the adoption of A/RES/70/46 GA Advancing the multilateral agenda, organized by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) and the Geneva Academy in cooperation with Chatham House (Geneva, 23 June 2017). 6 Geneva, 13-17 November 2017. 4
H. Support for Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War 14. The ISU assisted the President-designate with the substantive issues under Protocol V. On Article 4 the ISU provided an update on the implementation of those provisions, assisted and followed up with panelists for the discussions during the Eleventh Conference and prepared the briefs and draft message to the High Contracting Parties for the President. The ISU with the assistance of Ireland prepared a practical exercise on the recording of information under Article 4. This exercise was in accordance with the decisions taken at the Tenth Conference. The aim is to assist the High Contracting Parties that have yet to implement Article 4 procedures with an understanding of how the provisions can be operationalized. A trial-run of the exercise was carried out in following the informal meeting on Article 4 and feedback was received. Further work is needed on this exercise. 15. To assist the President with his engagement of all High Contracting Parties to submit national reports, the ISU drafted messages from the President to the States that have not yet reported. The ISU further supported these efforts by following up twice with such States and provided detailed information on the Protocol V reporting requirements, including the provision of such information in French and Spanish. I. Sponsorship Programme 16. The ISU assisted in organizing the work of the Steering Committee of the Sponsorship Programme. 7 For the GGE on LAWS and the Conferences on Amended Protocol II and Protocol V and the Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the CCW, the ISU assisted with the identification of candidates and closely coordinated with the GICHD on organizing the sponsorship of candidates. During the meetings in November, the ISU organized a briefing for the sponsored delegates on universalization and implementation. Also, the ISU assisted individual sponsored delegates at the beginning of the meetings to brief them on the programme of work and when they intend to intervene or make presentations at the sessions, as well as the content of their presentations. J. Communications amongst the High Contracting Parties 17. The main means of communicating information to the High Contracting Parties, international organizations and non-governmental organizations are through official letters, e-mail messages, faxes and the CCW website (www.unog.ch/ccw). The ISU undertook to update its contact list in cooperation with permanent missions during August 2017. The ISU continues to coordinate with the Conference Services of the United Nations Office at Geneva to make available on-line the new system of audio recordings of all official meetings and conferences held at the United Nations Office at Geneva. K. Support for reporting on CCW Compliance, Amended Protocol II and Protocol V 18. The ISU continued to update the officeholders and States Parties on the status of the reporting rates, to post all national annual reports on the website and to respond to all inquiries on national reporting. The ISU drafted and dispatched follow up letters on national reporting 7 The Steering Committee held two meetings this year, on 3 February and 19 September 2017. 5
signed by the office holders. A total of 162 annual national reports on CCW compliance, Amended Protocol II and Protocol V have been uploaded on the website for 2017. L. Financial issues 19. Over the course of the past year, UNODA and the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) made significant efforts to make the High Contracting Parties aware of the financial difficulties of the CCW, and to clarify that the United Nations Financial Rules and Regulations require that funds are received in advance of any and all incurring expenditures such as the organizing of meetings and staff costs. As previously conveyed to States, financial accountability initiatives including the introduction of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system (Umoja) have brought greater transparency, stricter enforcement of these rules and regulations and revealed a number of structural problems. In particular, the introduction of Umoja has brought more transparency and enhanced existing financial rules in aligning implementation of planned activities with cash availability. 20. Though significant arrears were recovered in the year 2017, the current liquidity of the Convention for 2018 activities is still inadequate. However, current efforts and suggested measures to place the work of the Convention on a sound financial footing will hopefully enhance sustainable, timely and predictable support to the High Contracting Parties and allow the United Nations to hold meetings of the Convention as requested. 21. Given the cancellation of the three expert-level meetings in 2017, the Chair sought the assistance of the ISU to take a closer look at the estimated costs of each of the other planned conferences for 2017 and to re-estimate them taking into account Decision 7 of the Fifth Review Conference, concerning summary records and to propose a biennial budget. 8 M. Costs estimates and final expenditures of CCW meetings in 2016 22. At last year s Fifth Review Conference, the High Contracting Parties requested the ISU to continue to report on the estimated costs versus the actual costs of the meetings and conferences of the preceding year. 9 The tables containing the breakdown of the estimated costs compared to the final expenditures of all the meetings held last year are contained in the annex to this report. N. Other issues 23. The ISU organized a small group informal discussion on Mine Action Terminology on 7 June 2017, which was dedicated for organizations comprising United Nations agencies, international organizations, and NGOs. The purpose of the meeting was to seek clarity on terms used under Amended Protocol II and Protocol V that are actually being used. The discussion highlighted that there has been a tendency to confuse the mine action definitions set out in CCW Amended Protocol II and Protocol V. This is an issue that the ISU will take up with the office holders of Amended Protocol II and Protocol V. The ISU continues to coordinate with the United Nations Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Mine Action (IACG-MA) on a range of issues. 8 Final Document of the Fifth Review Conference, CCW/CONF.V/10, Decision 6. 9 Final Document of the Fifth Review Conference, CCW/CONF.V/10, paragraph 26. 6
O. On-going work 24. Until the end of the year the ISU will continue to finalize its work resulting from the fortnight of CCW meetings from 13 to 24 November 2017, including to prepare the groundwork for CCW activities in 2018. 7
Annex Costs estimates and final expenditures of CCW meetings in 2016 8
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