Statement by H.E. Mr.Andre Pung
Ambassador, PermanentRepresentative of theRepublic of Estonia to theUnited Nations in Geneva
Meeting of the HighContracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW)
Genf, 22 november 2017
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Thank you Mr. Chair
Estonia aligns itself with the statement delivered bythe European Union, but allow me to add a few remarks to express our commitmentto the CCW and its Protocols.
First, allow me tocongratulate you on your election as 2017 Chair ofthe Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and express my gratitudeto you as well as to the Implementation Support Unit for all the good work andpreparations done to ensure the success of this meeting. You can count on mydelegation’s full support.
Mr. Chair,
Estonia supports the effortsto universalise and strengthen the CCW, thus wecongratulate Afghanistan and Lebanon who joined the Convention this year andurge all States that have not yet done so to accede to the Convention and itsProtocols without further delay. Work on strengthening nationalreporting should continue. In this regard, Estonia, as the President ofProtocol V, welcomes the decision in the context of Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War(ERW) to establish a voluntary expertassistance mechanism to improve the rate and quality of nationalreporting and we look forward to itsimplementation. We believe, the application of the mechanism could beconsidered also under the Amended Protocol II and CCW reporting mechanisms.
Mr. Chair,
It is of highimportance that the CCW continues tofulfil its mandate supporting the effective implementation of IHL and therebypreventing and alleviating human suffering. Estonia finds it essential that theCCW remains responsive and flexible as the main forum for tackling the newchallenges and developments in weapons technologies in coming years. We welcome the first meeting of the Group of Governmental Experts on LethalAutonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) and thank Ambassador Amandeep Singh Gill fromIndia for his skilful leadership in conducting the deliberations. Estonia firmly believes that any weapons system,irrespective of its level of autonomy, must only be used in strict compliancewith international law. In terms of the way forward, Estonia supports a furtherelaboration on characteristics of autonomous weapons systems and on what isrequired in order for a weapon system to be considered as being undermeaningful human control. Estonia also supports a further discussion on bestpractices of weapons reviews. Estonia firmlybelieves that CCW is the best framework for continuing these discussions.
Mr. Chair,
Like many in this room, Estonia is concernedabout the continued fragile financial situation, which is putting in danger the effectiveoperation of the CCW and its. We urge all States to comply with their financialobligations on time and pay all outstanding arrears. Estonia welcomes efforts to increaseclarity on financial matters. Therefore, we support your proposal, Mr. Chair, to make the financial situation of CCWmore sustainable.
In this context,it is however regrettable that the cash flow problems will lead to thetermination of staff contracts of both members of the ISU, as we have beeninformed by the UNODA over the weekend. We find the ISU-s work relevant in guaranteeingsustainability of the work under the CCW and its Protocols, promotinguniversalization, overseeing the sponsorship programme, retainingorganisational knowledge, including assistance to office holders and supportingthe High Contracting Parties in the implementation of the CCW and itsProtocols. We would therefore appreciate more information on how thesustainability of our work can be maintained and what are the financialimplications of terminating the ISU staff contracts.
Mr. Chair,we look forward to a productive Meeting of the High ContractingParties.
Thank you!