Intersessional meetings of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention Geneva, 15-18 June 2026.
Delivered by Cherry Helgesen, Environmental Advisor, NPA Thailand.
Thank you, Mister Chair,
Cooperation and assistance is vital for ensuring progress in the timely implementation of the Convention’s obligations and in fulfilling its humanitarian objective to end the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines once and for all. It is precisely the solidarity among States Parties that has made the achievements to date possible, and in the challenging times we are currently facing, sustaining and strengthening these efforts is of crucial importance.
It is also thanks to the sustained support and collective efforts of States Parties, operators and other stakeholders that we can now congratulate Croatia for declaring the fulfilment of its Article 5 obligations after more than 30 years of clearance efforts. It serves as an important reminder that completion is achievable when affected States Parties and their partners work together over time, and NPA is proud to have contributed to these efforts. We wish to see more of the remaining affected countries reach this important milestone as soon as possible.
While acknowledging the significant contributions and joint efforts made on cooperation and assistance to date, the challenging funding landscape and current global environment demand to further strengthen these efforts and promote effective cooperation between all States Parties.
Where possible, affected States should allocate adequate national resources to mine action, and all States Parties in a position to do so to provide sustained international assistance. Predictable and multi-year funding arrangements are particularly important for enabling effective planning, maintaining national capacities, and ensuring that progress towards completion can be sustained.
Effective coordination, cooperation, and partnerships are equally essential. Strengthening national coordination mechanisms, fostering regular dialogue among stakeholders, and promoting regional and cross-border collaboration are all practical means of supporting affected States Parties to meet their time-bound obligations. NPA encourages such initiatives to be promoted and further supported.
Mister Chair,
The success of this Convention also depends on strong national ownership. Building sustainable, long-term national capacities is a prerequisite for lasting progress, not only in implementing and fulfilling obligations, but in laying the necessary foundations for residual contamination management. Investment in national capacity building is often cost-effective and benefits a country’s mine action sector as a whole.
We also encourage greater support between national authorities and national operating partners, as well as greater investment in nationally-led implementation models that progressively strengthen the leadership, management and operational capacities of national authorities, institutions and local organizations.
Finally, implementation of the Convention’s obligations must be done in a meaningful and inclusive way, and gender and diversity considerations must be integrated into all our efforts.
Climate and environmental concerns should be taken into account at every stage of clearance, which is increasingly carried out in contexts affected by climate change and environmental degradation. We encourage donor states to support affected States Parties in integrating these cross-cutting considerations into mine action programmes.
Achieving the Convention's objectives requires meaningful cooperation and active engagement from all States Parties, and Article 6 remains a cornerstone of that collective effort. In an increasingly constrained global environment, we must work together to protect hard-won progress, strengthen national capacities, and ensure that affected communities continue to receive the support they need.
By doing so, we can accelerate progress towards completion and uphold the Convention's humanitarian promise to leave no State Party behind.
Thank you.
