22nd Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention Held in Geneva
The 22nd 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 (Ottawa Convention) was held from 1 to 5 December 2025 at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva.
The delegation of the Republic of Serbia consisted of representatives of the Mine Action Centre, the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, and the Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva.
The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) recalls that through many years of work within the Convention, since its adoption in 1997, a significant number of countries have successfully destroyed mine stockpiles and cleared large areas, saving lives and enabling the safer return of communities.
However, as the GICHD warned, current global circumstances, including the withdrawal or suspension of individual states, the increase in explosive threats and the lack of adequate financial support, threaten to reduce the results achieved so far.
After the first year of implementation of the Siem Reap-Angkor Action Plan 2025-2029, adopted at the Fifth Review Conference of the Ottawa Convention in November 2024 in Cambodia, the results achieved and the challenges in implementing the obligations under the Convention were presented.
Therefore, the 22nd Meeting of the States Parties to the Ottawa Convention was assessed as a milestone, with a call for renewed international commitment, solidarity and stronger coordination.
In their presentation, representatives of the Mine Action Center of the Republic of Serbia emphasized their full commitment to fulfilling the obligations arising from the Convention and presented an overview of the current state of play in the field of humanitarian demining.
The achieved results, as well as the challenges, were highlighted, with a special focus on mine clearance in southern Serbia and the implementation of the non-technical survey project in the municipality of Bujanovac.
The statement of the Republic of Serbia emphasized the implementation and planning of mine clearance activities and risk education, support for mine victims through rehabilitation and social integration programs, as well as the exchange of knowledge and innovation.
Serbia reaffirmed its determination to continue its efforts to protect the population and to contribute to global efforts aimed at the complete elimination of anti-personnel mines.
On the sidelines of the event, a meeting was held with representatives of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), dedicated to the consideration of the EWIPA Political Declaration.
