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Documentation Centre

Background

When the States Parties to the Convention banning anti-personnel mines mandated the establishment of the Implementation Support Unit (ISU), they indicated that one of the duties of the ISU should be to collect, collate, store and retrieve documentation on the Convention and its implementation. The States Parties noted in particular that the lack of a comprehensive collection of documents on the Ottawa Process, Oslo Diplomatic Conference, Meetings of the States Parties, et cetera complicates any research that could be necessary in the implementation process.

In response to this need, the GICHD's Implementation Support Unit established the AP Mine Ban Convention's Documentation Centre. As of March 2003, the Documentation Centre housed a collection of over 3000 documents, with new material added regularly. The primary aim of this facility is to support the ongoing work of the States Parties while also being accessible to all other interested actors. The Documentation Centre is located in the offices of the GICHD in Geneva.

Resources

The Documentation Centre has a wide range of materials available to those with an interest in the Convention and landmines-related issues, including reports, statements, presentations, transcripts and other documents related to the following:

  • The emergence of the landmines issue, the birth of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and ongoing activities of non-governmental organizations.

  • Key Ottawa Process meetings, including those that took place in 1996-97 in Ottawa, Vienna, Bonn, Brussels and Oslo.

  • Other events and activities that were supportive of the Ottawa Process.

  • Activities that have been central to efforts to implement the Convention, including annual Meetings of the States Parties, meetings of the Standing Committees established by the States Parties to the Convention and various regional conferences and events.

  • Hard-copies of national reports submitted under Article 7 of the Convention and of national legislation adopted by States Parties in accordance with Article 9 of the Convention.

  • United Nations activities related to the landmines issue.

  • Activities related to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

  • General publications on the landmines issue.

The Documentation Centre also houses original documents or other media which actors related to the implementation of the Convention have asked the ISU to store for safe-keeping. For example, the Implementation Support Unit of the GICHD was asked by the Nicaraguan President of the Third Meeting of the States Parties to serve as the depository of the original version of the Llamado de Managua, a call made by the Vice-Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Central American States to ensure the full application of the Convention.

Access

While the Documentation Centre's main clients are representatives of the States Parties to the Convention, the Centre is open to all other interested actors. To arrange an appointment to visit the Documentation Centre, please contact the officer in charge.

In addition to the Centre containing hard copies of documents related to the Standing Committees established by the States Parties and to Meetings of the States Parties, many of these documents can be found on the web site of the GICHD by selecting Meetings of the States Parties and Intersessional Work Programme.

Enquiries

To book appointments to visit the Documentation Centre or to request further information, please contact the following:

Sophie Delfolie or isu(at)gichd.org