First of all Austria congratulates the ICBL on the First Landmine Monitor
Annual Report. It is impressive to see such a comprehensive report to be
elaborated in such a short amount of time.
With the entry into force of the Ottawa Convention on 1 March 1999, its full
and effective implementation is one of our priority foreign policy objectives.
Already when Austria formulated the draft for the Convention, we were convinced
that transparency and openness were essential to promote compliance. As a result
Article 7 stipulates very clear and specific reporting obligations for states
parties. Those reports will be considered by the Meetings of the States Parties.
They will also provide us with a benchmark for progress in ridding the world
from anti-personnel mines. Moreover, they will contain invaluable information
for mine action, information that in our view should be retrievable by all
interested actors in mine action. Therefore Austria hopes it will be possible to
decide so at the First Meeting of States Parties.
As in other foreign policy fields dealing with human security, an independent
assessment provided by NGOs constitutes an interesting complementary source of
information. Governments and media alike will read Landmine Monitor against the
background of official statements and draw their conclusions. Since Austria
attaches particular importance to implementation, transparency and openness, a
financial contribution was given to the Landmine Monitor project.
The fruitful partnership between governments and NGOs was a hallmark of the
Ottawa Process. In our view, it will be even more so in the implementation of
the Convention. Mine action in the field is mostly done by NGOs and
international agencies. Their activities are funded primarily by governments.
Consequently, Austria advocates that international coordination and cooperation
efforts should not limit themselves to states and international organizations,
but should include NGOs on all relevant issues. Our approach implies increased
coordination and cooperation also among NGOs active in mine action. The
preparation of a common portfolio on projects by HI, MAG and NPA was a welcome
first step.
Currently the Austrian government is funding mine action projects in
Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Mozambique and Namibia. But
sustainable political and financial support for mine action has to be buttressed
not only by officials, but by the public as such. On the basis of an initiative
of Austria's Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schüssel, the Austrian Broadcasting
Corporation ran a fundraising drive for mine victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Cambodia in 1998. In addition to the substantial sum that was raised,
Austrians were confronted for months daily with the plight of mine victims in
radio, TV and print media. Even a year afterwards the lasting impact can be seen
in increased media coverage on mine related matters.
Advocacy has to remain in the forefront. Advocacy with regard to media and
the broad public on one hand, and on the other hand aimed at speeding up
universalization. The rapid entry into force and the impressive numbers of both
ratifyers and signatory states can only serve as an encouragement to work for
universalization on political level as well as expert level. In those talks
Austria has encountered a lot of interest among some non-signatory states, but
also the need to work together with them in order to resolve their problems
keeping them from signing. The Austrian armed forces have reached out to their
counterparts in a number of countries providing them with expertise on questions
of military doctrine as well as technical issues such as cost-effective and
environmentally safe stockpile destruction.
The Convention offers a comprehensive framework that should be used to
achieve more coherent and focused international cooperation in mine action.
Together we can fulfill the promise of the Convention - a world without the
dangers of anti-personnel mines. Austria is looking forward to make its
contribution.
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