TeheuheuNew Zealand’s ratification of the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions is nearly completion according to New Zealand’s Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control, Hon. Georgina Te Heuheu.In a meeting held today [3 December] with representatives of Thomas Nash and Mary Wareham of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), Te Heuheu said that the Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade Select Committee last week reported back to parliament with its recommendations for the proposed Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill.  This proposed implementing legislation for the Convention on Cluster Munitions must be read a second and final time before it can be enacted. Once passed, New Zealand will be able to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

A total of 103 governments have signed this international treaty banning cluster bombs, of which 24 have ratified. Thirty ratifications are required for the agreement to become binding international law so the race is now on with New Zealand, Belgium, Ecuador, Togo, and others vying to be in the first thirty states to trigger entry into force.

The campaigners’ meeting with Minister Te Heuheu took place on the sidelines of a major 1997 Mine Ban Treaty meeting in Colombia. More than 100 governments are participating in the second five-year review of the international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines, also known as the “Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World.”

During the high-level segment held 3 December 2009, Te Heuheu made a strong statement on behalf of New Zealand that recognised the considerable gains made in the international effort to achieve a mine-free world. The minister described New Zealand’s contributions to mine clearance and victim assistance via development funding, as well as in-kind contributions to Afghanistan, Lebanon, and elsewhere by the New Zealand Defence Force.

Te Heuheu paid tribute to the many landmine survivors attending the Cartagena Summit for reminding delegates of the urgency of their work to make the Mine Ban Treaty work on the ground.  She acknowledged the significance of 3 December as the international day for persons with disabilities and was later warmly greeted by Cambodian landmine survivors including Mr. Tun Channereth, who received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).

Te Heuheu said she was proud of the recent ratifications of the Mine Ban Treaty by New Zealand’s Pacific neighbors: Cook Islands, Palau and Vanuatu.  She noted that while the ban landmine ban movement has successfully stigmatised the weapon, the ultimate goal remains universal adherence to the Mine Ban Treaty. Te Heuheu urged all states to work to universalize the Mine Ban Treaty and its norms, and commended the ICBL for its tireless work.

On 4 December, the minister will undertake a visit to a mine-affected community in rural Colombia, which has been experienced an ongoing internal conflict with non-state armed groups.

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