Pacific countries met in Auckland on 12-14 February 2018 in order to take stock and advance implementation of three treaties dealing with conventional weapons: the Arms Trade Treaty (2013), the Convention on Cluster Munitions (2008) and the Convention on the prohibition of the use, stockpiling and transfer of antipersonnel mines (1997).

The meeting was sponsored by New Zealand and Australia and supported by the three Geneva-based Implementation Support Units (ATT, APMBC and CCM). The meeting was also attended by the International Committee of the Red Cross and civil society representatives.

14 Pacific States participated in the meeting: Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Please click on the links below to access conference documents:

Auckland Declaration on Conventional Weapons Treaties
Conference programme

Congratulations Uruguay for being the second State Party to have submitted its 2017 annual transparency report on 22 January, well ahead of the due date of 30 April. ¡Enhorabuena!

Following closely in third place is Mozambique, which submitted its report on 23 January, also well ahead of the due date. Parabéns Moçambique!

Uruguay and Mozambique, along with gold-medalist Saint Kitts and Nevis, are leading by example the importance of submitting annual transparency reports on time, as required by Article 7 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Reporting templates are available in all six UN languages.

Congratulations to Saint Kitts and Nevis for having submitted its 2017 annual transparency report on 16 January 2018, making it the first State Party to have done so this year!

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).

The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) Quarterly Newsletter covering the final quarter of 2017 is out.

Here are three easy-to-read brochures on the Convention on Cluster Munitions that you could download or share with others:

1. A simple introduction to the Convention on Cluster Munitions
2. The Coordination Committee: Who we are and what we do
3. The Implementation Support Unit (ISU): Its role in supporting the implementation of the Convention

The Dubrovnik Action Plan (DAP) is now also available in booklet form in French and Spanish. Paper copies will be ready for distribution in January 2018. These easy-to-read publications aim at facilitating the work of States Parties in the implementation of the objectives set collectively in the DAP.

The ‘Balkans workshop on cluster munition survey and clearance and implementation of Article 4 of the CCM’ took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, on 8-10 November. Norway, former CCM Coordinator on Clearance and Risk Reduction Education, along with one of the current CCM Coordinators on this thematic, the Netherlands, organized this technical workshop, which brought together representatives of 4 affected States from the region, 5 donor States, 1 donor organization and 3 demining agencies.

The goal of the workshop was to encourage affected States to continue with their efforts on clearance and for States and operators to share their experiences with one another, through discussions on completion planning, challenges, lessons learnt, regional collaboration and available support.

Click here to view the programme of the workshop.

The Federal Republic of Germany, in its capacity as the President of the Seventh Meeting of States Parties (7MSP), organized a lunch side event on the “challenges to the implementation and universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM)” in the margins of the 72^nd session of the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security. The meeting was held at the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations in New York on Thursday 26 October 2017, where more than a dozen States were in attendance.

Ambassador Michael Biontino (Permanent Representative of Germany to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva) in his opening statement, made reference to the “country coalition” concept, the “structured dialogue” and the “military-to-military” engagements with States not Party that were initiated by the German Presidency of the 7MSP. Ambassador Biontino also made mention of the 2017 CCM draft resolution, dated 12 October 2017, that was submitted by Germany together with 42 co-sponsors.

The second speaker at the event was Ambassador Jaime Hermida Castillo (for the Spanish version his statement, click here). Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Nicaragua to the United Nations in New York, who represented Ambassador Hernán Estrada Roman (Permanent Representative of Nicaragua to the United Nations Office at Geneva), who currently presides over the Convention as the President of the Eighth Meeting of States Parties (8MSP).

The other panel speakers at the event were Ms. Sachi Claringbould (Deputy Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva), Mr. Hugh Watson (Counsellor, Australian Permanent Mission to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva), and Mr. Jeff Abramson (Program Manager, Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, ICBL-CMC).

A closed lunchtime side event in the margins of the 72^nd session of the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security was held at the Permanent Mission of New Zealand to the United Nations in New York on Tuesday 17 October 2017. This informal meeting was organized by New Zealand, CCM Coordinator on National Implementation Measures, in collaboration with Zambia, CCM Coordinator on Transparency Measures, and with the technical support of the CCM Implementation Support Unit. Five States Parties attended this side event to discuss obligations stemming from Article 7 (Transparency Measures) and Article 9 (National Implementation Measures) of the Convention.

During the meeting, the Coordinators highlighted the importance of transparency reporting and having sufficient national legislation in fulfilling the obligations of the Convention. New Zealand shared its model legislation with the attendees, which is available in all six UN languages. States that were present at the meeting committed to submitting their overdue initial transparency reports and following up on their respective national legislation with regards to implementing the CCM domestically.

Click here to view the agenda of the meeting.