20-24 June 2011, Geneva, Switzerland

The Intersessional Standing Committees Meetings took place from 20 to 24 June 2011 at the World Meteorological Organization building, Avenue de la Paix 7bis, Geneva, Switzerland.

Several key announcements were made during the conference:

• Germany announced that it had discovered an area suspected to contain landmines and cluster munition remnants at a former Soviet firing range at Wittstock in the east;
• The Pacific nation of Tuvalu participated for the first time in a meeting of the Mine Ban Treaty, and said it intends to join;
• ICBL member Human Rights Watch confirmed antipersonnel landmine use by Libyan government forces in the Nafusa mountains;
• The southern Sudan Demining Authority said that landmines have been used recently in the region by "renegade" rebel groups, but also said that southern Sudan intends join the Mine Ban Treaty after it formally becomes an independent state on 9 July;
• Turkey, which missed its stockpile destruction deadline in 2008, declared that it will complete the destruction of its remaining antipersonnel mines by the end of August 2011;
• Belarus, Ukraine and Greece, the other States Parties that also missed their stockpile destruction deadlines, described the measures they are taking to destroy their mines;
• Algeria, Chile, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Eritrea requested extensions to their treaty-mandated deadlines to clear all their mined areas.

To read the ICBL's full comments made at the end of the conference please click here.

To read the press release the ICBL issued at the end of the conference please click here.

Summary

Summary of the ISC meetings, 20-24 June

ICBL Statements delievered during the conference

• Universalization, 20 June
• Stockpile Destruction, 20 June
• Transparency, 22 June
• Comments and Questions on Victim Assitance, 22/23 June
• Victim Assistance, 23 June
• Efficiency in co-operation and assistance, 24 June
• On the 11MSP conference in Cambodia, 24 June
• Intersessional work programme, 24 June
• Compliance, 24 June
• Mines retained for training, 24 June

ICBL responses and critiques to the four countries who requested extensions on their deadlines to reach their obligations under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty.

• Algeria
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Chile
• Eritrea

Article 5 states that: "Each State Party undertakes to destroy or ensure the destruction of all anti-personnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control, as soon as possible but not later than 10 years after the entry into force of this Convention for that State Party."