Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (Hansard, 5 January 2004)

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

At the meeting of states parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) in Geneva on 27 and 28 November, a new legally binding Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) was adopted. The new Protocol (the 5th to the CCW) sets out obligations and best practice for the clearance of post-conflict ERW (munitions used during an armed conflict that should have exploded but failed to do so or munitions which have been abandoned during an armed conflict.) The principal obligations in the new protocol areThe state in control of the affected territory shall mark, clear, remove or destroy the ERW as soon as feasible and prioritise those affected areas posing a serious humanitarian risk; The user of munitions which have become ERW undertakes to provide assistance, where feasible, to the party in control of the affected territory to facilitate marking and clearance, removal or destruction of such ERW; The user of munitions which may become ERW undertakes to provide information on the use of such munitions (subject to legitimate security interests) to the party in control of the territory and to organisations undertaking clearance operations on the affected territory. The content of this information is provided on a voluntary, best practice basis; Feasible precautions should be be taken to warn civilians of the risks and effects of ERW; States shall take steps, to the extent feasible, to protect authorised humanitarian missions operating in the area under their control from the effects of ERW; States may provide assistance to deal with the threat posed by existing ERW; Preventive measures, such as good practice in managing munitions to reduce the chance of their becoming unexploded, may be undertaken on a voluntary basis.

This protocol is an important step in reducing humanitarian risks associated with ERW and fulfils a long-standing UK objective to secure agreement on a legally binding Instrument. The Government are looking into the necessary steps that may need to be taken to enable the Government to proceed to ratification of this protocol.