Convention
on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel
Mines and on Their Destruction [Excerpts] Signed in Ottawa,
3 December 1997 [From the] Preamble
The States Parties, - Determined to put an end to the suffering and
casualties caused by anti-personnel mines, that kill or maim hundreds of people
every week, mostly innocent and defenceless civilians and especially children,
obstruct economic development and reconstruction, inhibit the repatriation of
refugees and internally displaced persons, and have other severe consequences
for years after emplacement,
- Believing it necessary to do their utmost
to contribute in an efficient and coordinated manner to face the challenge of
removing anti-personnel mines placed throughout the world, and to assure their
destruction,
- Wishing to do their utmost in providing assistance for the
care and rehabilitation, including the social and economic reintegration of mine
victims,
- ...
- Basing themselves on the principle of international
humanitarian law that the right of the parties to an armed conflict to choose
methods or means of warfare is not unlimited, on the principle that prohibits
the employment in armed conflicts of weapons, projectiles and materials and methods
of warfare of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering and
on the principle that a distinction must be made between civilians and combatants,
- Have
agreed as follows:
Article 1 General obligations
- Each State Party undertakes never under any circumstances:
a) To use anti-personnel
mines;
b) To develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer
to anyone, directly or indirectly, anti-personnel mines;
c) To assist, encourage
or induce, in any way, anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State
Party under this Convention. - Each State Party undertakes to destroy or
ensure the destruction of all anti-personnel mines in accordance with the provisions
of this Convention.
... Article 3 Exceptions
- Notwithstanding the general obligations under Article 1, the retention or
transfer of a number of anti-personnel mines for the development of and training
in mine detection, mine clearance, or mine destruction techniques is permitted.
The amount of such mines shall not exceed the minimum number absolutely necessary
for the above-mentioned purposes.
- The transfer of anti-personnel
mines for the purpose of destruction is permitted.
... Article 5 Destruction of anti-personnel mines in mined
areas - Each State Party undertakes to destroy or ensure the destruction
of all anti-personnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control,
as soon as possible but not later than ten years after the entry into force of
this Convention for that State Party.
- ...
- If a State Party believes
that it will be unable to destroy or ensure the destruction of all anti-personnel
mines referred to in paragraph 1 within that time period, it may submit a request
to a Meeting of the States Parties or a Review Conference for an extension of
the deadline for completing the destruction of such anti-personnel mines, for
a period of up to ten years.
... Article
9 National implementation measures Each State Party shall take all appropriate
legal, administrative and other measures, including the imposition of penal sanctions,
to prevent and suppress any activity prohibited to a State Party under this Convention
undertaken by persons or on territory under its jurisdiction or control.
... Article 12 Review Conferences - A Review Conference
shall be convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations five years after
the entry into force of this Convention. Further Review Conferences shall be convened
by the Secretary-General of the United Nations if so requested by one or more
States Parties, provided that the interval between Review Conferences shall in
no case be less than five years. All States Parties to this Convention shall be
invited to each Review Conference.
... Article
15 Signature This Convention, done at Oslo, Norway, on 18 September 1997,
shall be open for signature at Ottawa, Canada, by all States from 3 December 1997
until 4 December 1997, and at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from
5 December 1997 until its entry into force. ... Article
17 Entry into force - This Convention shall enter into force on the
first day of the sixth month after the month in which the 40th instrument of ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession has been deposited.
... Article 20 Duration and withdrawal - This
Convention shall be of unlimited duration.
- Each State Party shall, in
exercising its national sovereignty, have the right to withdraw from this Convention.
It shall give notice of such withdrawal to all other States Parties, to the Depositary
and to the United Nations Security Council. Such instrument of withdrawal shall
include a full explanation of the reasons motivating this withdrawal.
- Such
withdrawal shall only take effect six months after the receipt of the instrument
of withdrawal by the Depositary. If, however, on the expiry of that six-month
period, the withdrawing State Party is engaged in an armed conflict, the withdrawal
shall not take effect before the end of the armed conflict.
- The withdrawal
of a State Party from this Convention shall not in any way affect the duty of
States to continue fulfilling the obligations assumed under any relevant rules
of international law.
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