Statement by Ambassador Amandeep Singh Gill, Permanent Representative of India to the Conference on Disarmament during the 11th Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V of the CCW in Geneva on 20 November 2017
Statement by Ambassador Amandeep Singh Gill, Permanent Representative of India to the Conference on Disarmament during the 11th Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V of the CCW
20 November 2017, Geneva
Mr. President,
The Indian delegation congratulates you on your election as the President of the Eleventh Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V. We assure you of the full support of our delegation in ensuring the success of this meeting. We also congratulate other members of the bureau on their election. We convey our appreciation to the Secretariat and the ISU for their support. We also take this opportunity to warmly welcome the delegation of Afghanistan among our midst.
2. India remains fully committed to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and the humanitarian principles enshrined therein. India has ratified all five Protocols of the Convention as well as amended Article I. We attach special importance to Protocol V of the CCW on Explosive Remnants of War. India held the Presidency of the CCW in 2002-03, when Protocol V was negotiated and was among the first 20 countries which ratified Protocol V that led to its entry into force. India was also privileged to be the President of the Third Conference of Protocol V in 2009. We have also coordinated the work on Article 4 Generic Electronic Template and National Reporting.
3. Timely implementation of obligations under Protocol V, including submission of national reports, is of high significance given that a number of High Contracting Parties are engaged in military operations or participate in peacekeeping missions. The measures taken by India to implement its obligations under Protocol V have been detailed in our national annual reports. India has institutionalized mechanisms for effective implementation of the Protocol.
4. The revised Generic Electronic Template of Article 4 of the Protocol has been adopted and implemented by India. All technical aspects concerning safety and protection of explosive ordnance against occurrence of ERW are ensured prior to indenting as per Generic Preventive Measures of Technical Annexure of Protocol V. The issue of victim assistance remains one of continuing importance and we have noted that guidance on its reporting is to be included as part of National Reports.
5. India understands the importance of cooperation and assistance to the implementation of Protocol V and has provided such assistance upon request, including to Belarus and is prepared to consider additional requests in the future. On the regional front, India co-chaired an Expert Working Group on Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) along with Vietnam under the aegis of the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM +) and hosted a Joint Field Training Exercise on Humanitarian Mine Action and UNPKO in March 2016. India also plans to hold artificial limb fitment camps in various countries that suffer from ERW.
6. We believe that universalization should continue to be a priority under Protocol V. This would make a real difference on the ground in addressing the humanitarian impact of explosive remnants of war. We are pleased to note that the number of parties to the Protocol has risen to 93 with Afghanistan’s welcome accession to the Protocol this year.
7. We are also pleased to announce that India, along with the ICRC, is organizing a regional conference on the CCW and its Protocols in New Delhi in December this year. Till date, more than 30 countries from Asia and Africa have confirmed their participation in the Conference. We hope that this Conference would contribute towards the efforts being made on Protocol V universalisation.
Thank you, Mr President.
