The intersessional meeting of the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines took place in Geneva from 8 to 9 June 2017. The meeting was devoted to reviewing implementation of the Treaty, particularly the provisions relating to clearance of contaminated areas, stockpile destruction and international cooperation and assistance.
On the sidelines of the meeting Italy, together with the UN Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Mine Action, organized a panel discussion on the issue of assistance to victims of mines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war (ERWs), a theme central in the development cooperation and humanitarian demining programmes funded by Italy. The panel was composed of representatives from Afghanistan, Croatia, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Handicap International (see the agenda).
The side event reviewed the status of implementation of victim assistance obligations in all relevant Conventions and related challenges, one of which is represented by the recent sensible decrease in funding despite the rise in victims of mines and other ERWs due mostly to the use of Victim-Activated Improvised Explosive Devices.
The discussion also explored the relationship between victim assistance and sustainable development, particularly on the contribution that the former – broadly intended as comprising the psycho-physical support to victims as well as support for the social and economic inclusion of victims and their family members – can give to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.
The link between humanitarian demining and the SDGs was also the focus of another side event during which the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) launched their joint study on “Leaving no one Behind: Mine Action and the Sustainable Development Goals”, funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Ms Palma D’Ambrosio, Vice Permanent Representative of Italy to the Conference on Disarmament, took part in the event.
Italy also delivered two statements during the intersessional meeting on the issues of international cooperation and assistance and victim assistance.
