Remarks by the Chairman-in-Office of the Reay Group on Mine Action, Ambassador Sergiu Celac

The Reay Group, so named after a distinguished Canadian general who died in the line of duty while engaged in mine action in South Eastern Europe, is an informal specialized consultation and advocacy forum bringing together representatives of the states in the region, international organizations, both intergovernmental and NGOs, and the donor community, all under the aegis of Stability Pact Table III.

Before going into the substance of my brief presentation, I should like to pay tribute to my predecessor, Mrs. Dijana Plestina of Croatia, who handled the rotating Ray Group Chairmanship-in-Office with competence and distinction over 2002.

We had two Reay Group meetings this year, on 3 February and 12 May, both of them in Geneva, in the margins of the Intersessional Meetings of the Ottawa Convention Standing Committees. According to the established pattern of work, we spend most of the time listening to progress reports from participants and debating priorities for further action in a regional format. As a result, we in the Reay Group have a fairly good representation of what has been done in the field of mine action, and how, what are the strong and weak points in that area, and what needs to be done in order to move things forward.

From the beginning, we have had a bit of an identity problem since many of the activities listed in the Group`s terms of reference are successfully covered, in practical terms, by other organizations that, unlike us, have meaningful budgets and permanent staff. Therefore, the relative merits of the Reay Group have to be sought elsewhere, namely in its ability to see the broader picture, to identify real problems and to act as a gentle catalyst for resolving those problems without presumptuously assuming a hands-on coordinating role.
On the whole, the application of the Ottawa Convention on landmines has been a success story in South Eastern Europe. Following the recent ratification of the Convention by Greece and Turkey and the start of appropriate procedures by Serbia and Montenegro, we are close to achieving universality at a regional level. The prescribed deadlines on demining and stockpile destruction are being met, in several cases well ahead of schedule. Institutional capacity for mine action and assistance to mine victims has proceeded apace with valuable support from international organizations and donor countries, whether they are parties to the Convention or not.

All this inspires guarded optimism for the future, but we must not forget that there is still a lot of unfinished business to cope with. We were reminded that 8 people died in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the beginning of this year in landmine incidents. Unexploded ordnance still presents a major threat in parts of the region, particularly in Serbia and Montenegro. Mine victims assistance, rehabilitation and full social integration will remain matters of serious concern long after the operational provisions of the Ottawa Convention will have been completed.

Now, where do we go from here?

Significant contributions toward shaping our future activities have been received from Reay Group participants, notably from the Stability Pact Secretariat, the International Support Unit and the Director of the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance. Briefly, they can be summarized as follows: