01 June 2015

A Special Commitment Towards Victims

Costa Rica Marks 100-Day Countdown to Dubrovnik

H.E. Manuel A. Gonzalez Sanz, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, President of the Fifth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention, with Ms Dijana Plestina, Director of the Office for Mine Action of Croatia, President-Designate of the First Review Conference (Dubrovnik, 7-11 September 2015). (c) CMC

With 100 days to go until the First Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Affairs Manuel A. Gonzalez Sanz invited states to intensify their efforts towards the goal of 100 States Parties.

Welcoming the most recent ratification by South Africa, Mr Sanz recalled that "all States Parties are required to promote universalization and implementation to achieve a world free of cluster munitions, and should influence those states which continue to use cluster munitions in breach of international humanitarian law."

"We have a special commitment to the many victims who have suffered and continue to suffer serious physical and moral consequences, and even loss of life due to these insidious devices," he added.

As President of the Fifth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention, Costa Rica is leading states towards a highly successful First Review Conference. The full statement (in Spanish) is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica.