Statement by Ambassador Pankaj Sharma at 23rd Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Amended Protocol – II (Abridged Version)10 December 2021, Geneva
Mr. President
India congratulates you on the assumption of this important responsibility of the Presidency of the 23rd Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Amended Protocol-II to the CCW. We assure you of India’s full support and cooperation.
Mr. President
India is fully committed to the CCW and is a signatory to all the five Protocols of the CCW including the Amended Protocol II. India attaches high priority to the full implementation of the Amended Protocol II as well as its universalization. We have fulfilled all our obligations under the Amended Protocol II related to, inter-alia, the non-production of non-detectable mines as well as rendering all our anti-personnel mines detectable. India also submits its national annual reports in a timely manner.
The Amended Protocol II strikes a fine balance between humanitarian concerns on landmines and legitimate defence requirements, particularly of States, with long borders, such as India. We believe that the availability of militarily effective alternative technologies that can perform the defensive function of anti-personnel landmines and a change in conventional war-fighting philosophy will facilitate the achievement of this goal. India attaches importance to developing and sharing of technologies to protect civilians against the indiscriminate use of mines as well as for mine clearance.Information regarding our obligations under the Amended Protocol II isregularly disseminated to our Armed Forces and our military courses of instruction and training manuals cover the subject at appropriate levels.
Mr. President
India has suffered the scourge of the use of IEDs by armed non-state actorscausing casualties of bothcombatants and civilians. India supports the AP-II as an appropriate framework for addressing the issue of IEDs. Our Centres of Excellence on Mines and IEDs remain abreast of the latest developments on IED design, development and proliferationas well as the global threat mitigation efforts to minimizethe IED contaminated areas.India believes that discussions on IEDs with special focus on clearance in urban environment will be beneficial.
Mr. President
India's ratification of the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities underscores the importance we attach to victim assistance. India stands readyto contribute towards capacity building, victim assistance and technical cooperation, both under the UN mandate as well as on a bilateral basis.
India as a leading contributor to UN peacekeeping operations, has extended assistance to international de-mining and rehabilitation efforts. India has trained mine clearance teams which have undertaken mine clearance tasks in several countries. In the last five years, India’s Centre of Excellence for Counter-IED has imparted training in mine clearance and explosives disposal to over 500 personnel from various countries. We have also undertaken specialist training on Counter IED, bomb disposal and de-mining operations with numerous partner countries, including Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia and Uzbekistan. We remain committed to further capacity-building and assistance to countries upon their request.
India has also hosted a multinational exercise on demining and unexploded ordinance in 2019 and an International National Security Guard Seminar on Counter IED in 2020, which were well received by various foreign delegates.
We are confident that our Meeting today will have a successful outcome under your able leadership and guidance.
The full version of this statement will be made available on the CCW portal.
I thank you Mr. President.
