Mr. President,

The Chinese delegation congratulates you on your election of the presidency of the Second Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V. We are confident that this Conference will achieve positive outcomes under your leadership.

Mr. President,

As a comprehensive and practical international instrument, Protocol V strikes a good balance between military and security needs and humanitarian concerns. It is a successful example in the process of Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and provides useful reference for other international efforts in the field of conventional arms control.

Since its entry into force in 2006, the universality of Protocol V has been continuously enhanced, and progress has been made constantly in the implementation of the Protocol. The international exchanges and cooperation in the field of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) have been greatly strengthened. All of these achievements show that the purposes and objectives of the Protocol have been widely accepted by the international community. All High Contracting Parties should faithfully fulfill their obligations under the Protocol, including those generic preventive measures with “best practice” nature, and actively carry out international assistances and cooperation in order to effectively reduce harms caused by ERW to civilians.

We are glad to notice that through in-depth and detailed discussion in the past two years, experts from various countries have reached much common understanding in establishing and improving implementation mechanism of the Protocol. We hope this Conference can make progress in building up implementation mechanism which can guide the implementation of the Protocol onto a standardized and institutionalized track, and guarantee comprehensive and effective implementation of the Protocol.

Mr. President,

The Chinese Government attaches great importance to the role of Protocol V. China will endeavor to speed up its preparation for ratifying the Protocol with view to joining the Protocol as soon as possible. China will continue to make unremitting efforts along with the international community with the aim of resolving the humanitarian concerns caused by ERW at an early date.

Thank you, Mr. President.