On November 16 – 20, 2020, the Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (APMBC) took place virtually in Geneva.

During the event its participants discussed issues related to the universalization and implementation of the Convention at national level, in particular those provisions of the document, which stipulate the destruction of stockpiled anti-personnel mines, clearance of mined areas and assistance to victims of these weapons. Delegates considered relevant reports of the four Committees of the Convention’s Secretariat, as well as exchanged current information on progress in achieving the goals set out by the «Oslo Action Plan» 2020 – 2024.

The Head of the delegation of Ukraine at the Meeting, the Permanent Representative of Ukraine in Geneva Y.Klymenko informed about the work carried out by our country on the implementation of the APMBC, highlighted the ongoing problem of usage of anti-personnel mines by illegal armed groups, supported by the Russian Federation in the east of Ukraine, appealed to the international partners to further assist our country in carrying out mine risk education, sharing modern mines and dangerous Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) detection and destruction technologies as well as required specialized equipment.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine performed the presentation of the request to extend the deadline for meeting Ukraine’s commitments under the Article 5 of the APMBC (clearing of mined areas) until December 1, 2023, provided detailed information on the situation around the implementation by our country of the abovementioned Convention’s Article, drew particular attention to the ongoing aggressive actions of the Russian Federation, which, among other things, lead to further contamination of the Ukrainian territories with anti-personnel mines and ERW. On November 20, 2020, the States Parties to the APMBC agreed unanimously to grant the aforementioned Ukrainian request.