Lebanon has a CCM Article 4 deadline of 1 May 2021 to clear its estimated contaminated area of 17.18 million square metres and destroy the cluster munition remnants. At the 8MSP, Lebanon had reported to be facing a variety of obstacles in meeting its clearance obligations, including a decrease in funding, the discovery of new cluster munition contaminated areas and a complex terrain. As a consequence, Lebanon has informed that it will not be able to meet its 2021 deadline and will therefore need to request an extension.

In order to assess the situation and to offer support in the Article 4 Extension Request process, the ISU Director, Ms. Sheila N. Mweemba, paid a visit from 26 to 28 March 2019 to the Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC). She took the opportunity to visit two clearance operations sites in South Lebanon that are currently being cleared by the Lebanese Association for Mines and Natural Disaster Action (LAMINDA) and DanChurchAid (DCA). Meetings were held with the outgoing LMAC Director, Brig. Gen. Ziad Nasr, the incoming LMAC Director, Brig. Gen. Jihad Al Bechaalany, and LMAC Head of Operations, Maj. Fadi Wazen.

The CCM Newsletter covering the first quarter of 2019 is out. Click here to check key highlights.

The 9MSP Presidency, Sri Lanka, is pleased to announce that Switzerland has declared fulfillment of its obligation under Article 3 pertaining to stockpile destruction and retention, 2 years ahead of its January 2021 deadline. The announcement was made on 19 March 2019. Congratulations Switzerland!

Under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, States have eight years from the entry into force of the Convention to complete stockpile destruction. To date, there remains only 5 States Parties with obligations under Article 3 of the Convention.

For more information:

https://www.admin.ch/gov/fr/accueil/documentation/communiques.msg-id-74375.html
https://www.admin.ch/gov/de/start/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-74375.html

An informal roundtable discussion on the Country Coalitions Concept under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) took place on 13 March 2019 in Geneva. The event hosted by the Implementation Support Unit of the Convention was facilitated by Sri Lanka, President of the Ninth Meeting of States Parties. The roundtable event was made possible as a result of the generous contribution of Canada.

The Country Coalitions Concept was introduced by Germany, in its capacity as the President of the Seventh Meeting of States Parties, as an initiative that builds on a country specific approach to complying with CCM commitments. The purpose of the lunchtime discussion was to bring together States Parties with outstanding CCM Article 3 and 4 obligations to exchange experiences on the numerous benefits of such a customized approach.

In that context, 16 States Parties gathered to share views and exchange best practices on the benefits of establishing country coalition partnerships to ensure the timely completion of CCM obligations. Two States Parties that have recorded progress in the implementation of their Article 4 obligations through the implementation of such a model also shared their successful experiences as a means to encourage other States Parties with outstanding obligations to establish similar partnerships.

Australia and Austria not only have similar names but they have submitted their 2018 annual transparency report at the same time this year. For this reason, they are jointly awarded the bronze medal for the timely submission of their reports. Congratulations!

Australia and Austria join Saint Kitts and Nevis and Costa Rica in setting an example of submitting their annual transparency report well before the due date of 30 April 2019. Under Article 7 of the Convention, States Parties are required to submit updated information covering the previous calendar year (1 January to 31 December) to the UN Secretary General annually (ccm@un.org).

States are invited to also share a copy of their report to the ISU at info@cmconvention.org

Report templates are available in all six UN languages and can be accessed here.

Costa Rica is the second State Party to have submitted its annual transparency report this year, well in advance of the due date of 30 April 2019. ¡Enhorabuena!

Costa Rica joins the gold-medalist, Saint Kitts and Nevis, in demonstrating the importance of submitting its annual transparency report on time, as required by Article 7 of the Convention.

Report templates and submission instructions can be found here.

On Wednesday 6th February 2019, Chile and Panama, CCM Coordinators on Universalization, hosted an informal meeting with signatory States and States not Party to the CCM at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The event was organized in the margins of the 22nd International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors and United Nations Advisers.

The objective of the meeting was to provide signatory States and States not Party with a platform to exchange views and experiences regarding the CCM universalization process.  9 representatives from 3 Signatory States and 5 States not Party participated.

Presentations were given by the ISU, CMC and ICRC. The Coordinators and panelists also responded to the queries of the country representatives.

For 2 consecutive years Saint Kitts and Nevis is the first CCM State Party to have submitted its annual transparency report. Thank you Saint Kitts for leading by example!
States Parties are required under Article 7 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions to submit their annual transparency report to the Secretary-General of the United Nations before 30 April of each year.

The annual transparency report covers the previous calendar year (1 January to 31 December) and should be sent to the UN Secretary-General, via the Office for Disarmament Affairs at ccm@un.org. The ISU would also appreciate a copy of the submitted report at info@cmconvention.org.

To facilitate reporting, States Parties are recommended to use the reporting template, which is available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian.

Congratulations to the government of the Philippines on its ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), thereby becoming State Party no. 106 of the Convention. The Philippines deposited its instrument of ratification at the United Nations in New York on 3 January 2019; in accordance with Article 17(2), the Convention will enter into force for the Philippines on 1 July 2019.

Ambassador Aliyar Lebbe Abdul Azeez of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, President of the Ninth Meeting of States Parties (9MSP), applauds this important decision and wholeheartedly welcomes the Philippines as the 106^th State Party of the CCM. He also calls on Signatory States and States not Party to ratify or accede to the Convention as a matter of priority.

The CCM Newsletter covering the last quarter of 2018 is out. Click here to check key highlights.