President of the CCM 2^nd Review Conference (2RC), H.E. Mr. Félix Baumann, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the Conference on Disarmament, hosted an informal virtual briefing on 8 June 2020 to update the CCM community on the process towards the Review Conference.

Ambassador Baumann informed that the First Preparatory Meeting would be an all-day meeting potentially on 29 June 2020 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. In consideration of Swiss national guidelines on gathering and travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 situation, the First Preparatory Meeting of the 2RC that was scheduled for 8 June 2020 had to be postponed to a later date. A silence procedure to confirm the new date will be held this week. In keeping with national safety measures, options on the nature of this meeting were still being considered and would likely permit only one person per delegation or entity to attend the First Preparatory Meeting physically. To optimize inclusivity and productivity, the Meeting would be webcast for the benefit of those delegation members unable to be present in the conference room. Interpretation services in all six UN languages would also be made available for all participants.

During the briefing, the President provided an update on the three main documents of the 2RC: the Review Document, the Lausanne Action Plan (LAP) and the Political Declaration. He reminded that the first draft of the Review Document had already been circulated and that the numerous comments received on the Document were being incorporated. A revised version would be shared at a later date. A zero draft of the LAP was being developed by the presidency taking into consideration the comments provided by the CCM community and would serve as a basis for discussion at the First Preparatory Meeting. As the LAP will be a crucial tool for CCM implementation for the next five years, consultations on it would continue to be held up to the Second Preparatory Meeting scheduled for 4 September 2020. Elements of the Political Declaration would be presented ahead of the Second Preparatory Meeting for a substantial discussion during that Meeting. The three documents will be presented at the 2RC for adoption by CCM States Parties.

The First Preparatory Meeting would also start to consider institutional matters concerning the machinery of the Convention, implementation support and its financing as well as the financing of the Convention. The President assured that the Programme of Work would be circulated as soon as possible.

Ambassador Baumann was pleased to announce that the 2RC would be convened at the SwissTech Convention Center from 23 to 27 November 2020 in Lausanne, Switzerland. He stated that the presidency, in partnership with the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), would launch a public photo exhibition in August to showcase the impact of cluster munitions. The exhibition would take place in several cities around Switzerland.

A Special Edition of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) Newsletter in commemoration of the 10^th anniversary of its adoption is out! It focuses on progress made in the implementation of the Convention since its adoption 10 years ago.

States Parties are kindly reminded that, as stipulated in Article 7 of the Convention, the deadline for the submission of the 2017 Annual Transparency Report is 30 April 2018.

This annual transparency report should cover the period 1 January to 31 December 2017 and be sent to the UN Secretary-General, via the Office for Disarmament Affairs at ccm@unog.ch.

The ISU would also appreciate a copy of the submitted report at info@cmconvention.org.

Annual transparency reports should provide updated information on progress made in the implementation of the Convention, including time-bound plans towards treaty compliance. Quality and timely annual reports are a crucial tool in the monitoring and evaluation of the general status and overall implementation of the Convention; they are also critical in facilitating the matching of existing needs with available resources.

The President of the 7MSP, Ambassador. M. Biontino, participated in a panel on The Challenges of completion during the 20th International Meeting of National Mine Action Programme Directors and United Nations Advisers which was held in Geneva from 7-10 February 2017. Against this backdrop, the German President made the following statement.

In its capacity as the President of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Netherlands would like to congratulate France on its destruction of all of France’s cluster munitions stockpiles as announced on 30 June 2016. This is an important contribution to the implementation of the Convention and the Netherlands would like to call upon other States Parties with outstanding obligations on the destruction of their stockpiles to follow this example.

Detailed information can be found on the following official links:

French: http://www.delegfrance-cd-geneve.org/Destruction-terminee-des-stocks-d-armes-a-sous-munitions-detenus-par-la-France

English: http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/disarmament-and-non-proliferation/france-and-the-elimination-of-cluster-munitions/article/disarmament-destruction-of-french-cluster-munition-stockpiles-complete-joint