PARLIAMENTARY ACTION TO SECURE THE ENTRY INTO FORCE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OTTAWA CONVENTION BANNING ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council
at its 162nd session (Windhoek, 11 April 1998)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the resolution entitled " Respect for International Humanitarian Law and the Banning of Anti-personnel Mines ", adopted at its 161st session held in Cairo in September 1997,

1. Welcomes the adoption of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on their Destruction, on the occasion of the Global Ban on Landmines: Treaty Signing Conference and Mine Action Forum, held in Ottawa from 2 to 4 December 1997;
2. Urges all Governments and Parliaments to take the necessary steps for the earliest possible ratification of the Convention so as to ensure the early entry into force of the treaty, and to work for the adoption of the requisite national enabling legislation and regulations to secure full respect for its provisions;
3. Reiterates its call to all States and other parties to armed conflict to contribute on an ongoing basis to international landmine clearance efforts, and once again encourages States to fund the United Nations Voluntary Trustee Fund for Mine Clearance;
4. Further reiterates its call to the governments and parliaments of the countries concerned to take further action to promote mine-awareness programmes (including gender- and age-appropriate programmes), thereby reducing the number and alleviating the plight of civilian victims;
5. Likewise repeats its call to the governments and parliaments of the countries concerned to release appropriate resources for the treatment and rehabilitation of landmine victims;
6. Urges IPU members to provide detailed responses to the questionnaire addressed to them by the Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law so that this subsidiary body may submit to it, at its 163rd session (Moscow, September 1998) a full report assessing national parliamentary action on the anti-personnel mines.

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