Statements and Speeches by Ministry Representatives 2006

3rd Review Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the use of certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be excessively injurious or to have indiscriminate effects

General debate statement delivered by HE Mr Don MacKay, New Zealand Permanent Representative, 6 November

Mr President

May I begin by congratulating you on your assumption of the Presidency. You can be assured of my delegation’s full support over the next two weeks.

Mr President, the CCW stands at an important crossroads. The regime has achieved some positive results over the last five years. Foremost among these is the adoption and imminent entry into force of Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War. We welcome this important milestone. Ratification of Protocol V is expected to be considered by the New Zealand Government before the end of this year, and we look forward to engaging with others on implementation mechanisms for the Protocol at this Conference.

However, there remain many areas on which progress needs to be made. We continue to be deeply troubled by the severe impact of conflict and post-conflict situations on civilians. Questions are being asked about the CCW’s ability to address these concerns. We must grasp the challenge.

Recent events reinforce our conviction that cluster munitions should be specifically addressed within the CCW. Our concerns relating to cluster munitions are not new. However, the need for these weapons to be better regulated by international law has now reached a point of urgency.

Mr President, we have all heard the very strong call by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his statement this morning, for immediate action by the CCW on cluster munitions. We fully endorse his call that immediate and effective action is needed in this respect. The CCW needs to demonstrate that it can answer mounting international concerns through the negotiation of a meaningful legally binding instrument that addresses the humanitarian consequences of cluster munitions. In our view, the CCW should be capable of providing the appropriate framework for dealing with cluster munitions. This Review Conference constitutes a pivotal opportunity for the CCW to prove that it remains a viable forum for formulating effective new international humanitarian law in answer to contemporary concerns.

Key elements which we should be addressing in our pursuit of more specific international regulations with regard to cluster munitions are:

• Firstly, the problematic persistent nature of failed cluster munitions;
• Secondly, any use of cluster munitions within areas with concentrated civilian populations;
• Thirdly, indiscriminate attacks of a nature to strike combatants and civilians alike;
• Fourthly, the use of these weapons in circumstances likely to cause disproportionate loss of civilian life and damage to civilian objects;
• And lastly, the worrying potential for increased proliferation, retention or use of outmoded cluster munitions stock

Mr President

Another clear priority issue for this Review Conference will be mines other than anti-personnel mines (MOTAPM). We have held exhaustive discussions on all aspects of the MOTAPM debate during the past five years, and we thank the Coordinator, Ambassador Carlos Paranhos, for his strenuous efforts to move the issue towards conclusion. We are looking to the Review Conference to provide firm guidance in the final phases of this process.

New Zealand would welcome the adoption of an instrument on MOTAPM, if a legally binding text could be agreed that made a credible improvement on existing international humanitarian law provisions. Again, as urged in the Secretary-General’s statement this morning, we need to articulate strong legal commitments that will reinforce the Convention’s humanitarian norms in this respect. We continue to hope that this will be possible. However, we do not see that this requirement could be satisfied by the conclusion of a text which carried optional provisions on the key issues of detectability and active life. In fact, we are concerned that such an outcome, with optional provisions, could actually undermine existing international humanitarian law.

Mr President

Let me reiterate New Zealand’s firm commitment over the coming two weeks to achieving positive and tangible outcomes on these key issues, as well as paying due attention to other tasks within the Convention’s remit.

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