Statement by
Shafqat Ali Khan, DPR
At the
Fourteenth Annual Conference of the High Contracting
Parties to the Amended Protocol II (AP-II) to the Convention
on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain
Conventional Weapons which may be Deemed to be
Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects
14 November 2012
Madam President,
Let me congratulate you for your election as the President of the
Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol on
Prohibition or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and
Other Devices, as Amended on 3 May 1996. We assure you of our full
cooperation and support.
14th
I would also like to thank the two coordinators for their tireless
efforts in providing useful insight on their respective subjects by
organizing informative discussions during the Open-Ended meeting of
the Group of Experts.
Madam President,
The Protocol’s strength lies in the balance it creates between the
humanitarian concerns and legitimate security imperatives of States.
Pakistan as a State Party to Amended Protocol-II since 1999 remains
committed to its full implementation. We continue to believe that the
human suffering resulting from the indiscriminate use of mines, booby
traps and other devices can only be minimized if the maximum number
of states commits themselves to the successful implementation of the
Protocol. Achieving universalization of the Protocol should thus remain
a high priority.
Madam President,
Pakistan remains in full compliance with the provisions of the
Amended Protocol II. There are no uncleared mines in Pakistan’s
territory. Our Armed Forces have fully incorporated, at all levels, the
requirements mandated by the technical annex of Amended ProtocolII. We have regularly submitted our National Annual Reports,
including the report for 2011.
Our armed forces, being the largest contributor to UN peace
keeping operations, have been successfully undertaking de-mining
operations in various parts of the world. We remain committed to
providing all assistance that we can, within our national capacity to
help global demining efforts.
Madam President,
Pakistan accords special importance to the issue of Improvised
Explosive Devices (IEDs) as it has been a victim of a score of terrorist
attacks employing these devices. Not just our armed forces, but our
civil administration as well as the civilian population have suffered
casualties due to the indiscriminate and lethal effects of IEDs. We,
therefore, consider it important to identify ways in which the
development of IEDs can be eliminated and the access of terrorists to
such devices can be prevented.
Madam President,
We note with interest the development of new technologies that
have the potential to protect civilians against indiscriminate effects of
mines. Such technologies can be of immense benefit in preventing the
injurious, indiscriminate and lethal effects of mines. We, therefore,
urge the states in possession of such technologies to share their knowhow with other states parties in order to help minimize the
humanitarian impact of mines, booby-traps and other devices. Indeed
the transfer and sharing of technology and experience, within the
framework of this Protocol, is an important step towards achieving our
common objectives and goals.
Thank you, Madam President.