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Disarmament DocumentationBack to Disarmament Documentation Fourth Annual Conference on CCW Amended Protocol II on Landmines, Geneva, December 11'States Parties Appeal for Wider Adherence to Amended Protocol II on Prohibition of Mines', United Nations Press Release (no designation), December 12; UN website, http://disarmament.un.org. The Fourth Annual Conference of the States Parties to the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices (Amended Protocol II), annexed 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 (CCW), concluded Wednesday at the Palais des Nations in Geneva with an appeal from States Parties to promote wider adherence to Amended Protocol II in their respective regions and for all States that have not yet done so to accede to the Protocol. Protocol II was amended on 3 May 1996 at the First Review Conference of the States Parties to the CCW. The number of States Parties to Amended Protocol II rose from 45 at the time of the First Annual Conference in 1999 to the current number of 69. In accordance with Article 13 of Amended Protocol II, States Parties meet annually to review its operation. At its one-day meeting on December 11, the Conference re-elected by acclamation Ambassador Christian Faessler of Switzerland as President. The Conference reviewed the operation and status of Amended Protocol II, while emphasizing the necessity for universalization of the pact. The Conference agreed to change the Rules of Procedure by extending the number of Vice-Presidents from two to three to secure a balanced representation of regional groups in the General Committee. In addition, the Conference decided to designate the future President and Vice-Presidents by the end of the current meeting to assure continuity in preparatory work carried out by the President. The Conference also decided to nominate Ambassador Dimiter Tzantchev of Bulgaria as President-designate for the Fifth Annual Conference in 2003 and as well as representatives of China, South Africa and Switzerland as Vice-President-designates. The Conference received national annual reports from 38 States Parties containing material on the dissemination of information on Amended Protocol II to armed forces and civilian populations. During the session, Switzerland introduced a proposal on the improvement of the reporting format to simplify and facilitate the submission of the national annual reports. © 2002 The Acronym Institute. |