The last meeting of the 156 State Parties from the Mine Ban Convention before the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-free World will take place on September 3rd and 4th at the Palace of Nations in Geneva (Switzerland).

The President-Designate of the Conference, Ambassador Susan Eckey, will set up the meeting where the following issues will be discussed: the Political Statement, a document where the State Parties reaffirm their commitment with the Prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines to the world; the functioning and status of the Convention for the 2004 – 2009 period, that is, the State Parties’ achievements and limitations in the face of the commitments acquired at the Mine Ban Convention; and the 2010 – 2014 Cartagena Action Plan, which will determine the activities related to Mine Action for the next five years.

As the host, Colombia –through the Vice-President of the Republic, Francisco Santos– will extend a formal invitation for all the State Parties to attend the Second Review Conference of the Convention to be held in Cartagena from November 29th to December 4th. Likewise, it will attempt to get all the State Parties to publicly ratify the international commitment with the definitive elimination of anti-personnel mines in the world and will thank the President-Designate and the Convention’s Implementation Unit for their cooperation, as well as for the commitment and encouragement they have provided to Colombia during the preparation of this event.

During his speech, the Vice-President, together with the Head of the Presidential Program for Mine Action (Paicma), Andrés Dávila Ladrón de Guevara, will talk about logistics, present the Conference’s webpage (www.cartagenasummit.gov.co) and explain the activities that will be part of the event’s agenda.

During his visit to Geneva, the Vice-President of the Republic will hold personal meetings with delegates from different Countries, as well as celebrities and opinion leaders, to whom an invitation to the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-free World will be extended.