Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 4 Apr 1995

Vol. 451 No. 5

Written Answers. - UN Convention on Landmine Use.

Michael P. Kitt

Question:

64 Mr. M. Kitt asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if the Irish Government and the EU will put in place systems for the monitoring and regular review of the United Nations Convention on landmine use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6758/95]

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Spring)

The monitoring and review of the Inhumane Weapons Convention, Protocol II of which contains provisions prohibiting the indiscriminate use of landmines, in the first instance, is a matter for the States Parties to the Convention. Ireland ratified the Convention on 13 March 1995 and therefore as a State Party, will, be a full participant in the Review Conference of States Parties to the Convention, which will take place in Vienna from 25 September to 13 October 1995. Forty nine countries, including 13 member states of the European Union, have ratified the convention to date. This places Ireland, and the EU, in a position to contribute significantly to the success of the review conference.

The review conference is expected to focus on strengthening those provisions of the convention, contained in Protocol II, concerning landmines. Ireland favours a total ban on the manufacture, stockpiling export and use of anti-personnel landmines. We will continue to make every possible effort to convince others, including our EU partners, that a total ban is the desirable objective. The Government believes that this objective would be advanced by the inclusion in Protocol II of the Convention of provisions which would substantially strengthen the restrictions or prohibitions on the use of anti-personnel landmines. This has been accepted as an important objective of the evolving EU position for the review conference.

The inclusion in the convention of provisions for an effective verification mechanism is another important objective for Ireland. The absence of provisions to verify compliance with the obligations imposed by the convention has severely limited the role which the Inhumane Weapons Convention has been able to play in the past. This obvious deficiency will have to be addressed at the review conference.

The question of verification is linked to that of regular reviews of implementation. Opportunities for state parties to demonstrate their full compliance with legal obligations which they freely assumed are an important means of reinforcing the credibility of international legal instruments and of building confidence among states. Regular reviews of the implementation of a stronger Inhumane Weapons Convention would also offer the possibility of taking preventive action in relation to other excessively injurious conventional weapons. For these reasons, Ireland will work to secure reviews of the implementation of the provisions of the convention at regular intervals in the future.

The Government hopes that many more countries will adhere to the Inhumane Weapons Convention in the future. Promoting the universality of the convention is an objective of the EU. It is important to spare no effort, on the one hand, to secure agreement at the review conference to the strongest possible prohibitions or restrictions on anti-personnel landmines while, on the other, encouraging as many countries as possible to accept and comply with the convention.