22 November 2021
On 19 November, the 19th Meeting of the States Parties of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (19 MSP APMBC) concluded its work, under the Presidency of H.E. Robbert Jan Gabriëlse, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the Conference on Disarmament, Geneva, and Disarmament Ambassador at-large.
The Meeting welcomed the announcement by Sri Lanka of the completion of its Article 4 obligations (stockpile destruction), ahead of 1 June 2022 deadline. It also granted extensions under article 5 to seven countries (Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia and Turkey), prolonging their respective deadlines for the completion of clearance obligations.
The GICHD was honored to contribute to the meeting’s deliberations through comments to extension requests, statements in plenary sessions and the organization of, or participation in, side events. These included remarks by the President of the GICHD Council of Foundation, Dr Barbara Haering, during the ceremonial opening of the meeting and by the GICHD Director, Amb. Stefano Toscano, on international cooperation and assistance.
Together with UNDP, the GICHD hosted a side event on “How Can Mine Action Maximize its Impact on Sustainable Development?”, which included interventions from HRH Prince Mired Bin Raad Al-Hussein of Jordan and Ms. Asako Okai, UN ASG, UNDP Crisis Bureau Director.
Congratulations to Ambassador Alicia Victoria Arango Olmos, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations in Geneva, elected as President of the 20th MSP. The Colombian Presidency will focus on several priority areas, including strengthening technical cooperation and capacity building, risk education efforts to prevent mine accidents and mainstreaming gender and diversity considerations. Finally, the Meeting agreed on the dates for the 2022 Intersessional Meetings (22-24 June 2022) and the 20th MSP (20-24 November 2022).
The GICHD would like to express its sincere appreciation to the Dutch Presidency and the APMBC ISU for their hard work to make the Meeting a success and wishes all the best to Ambassador Alicia Victoria Arango Olmos for the upcoming year. We look forward to adding our contribution to the international community’s efforts to achieve the APMBC’s goals.