Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention
Austrian Federal Ministry of Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs
Dr. Wolfgang Bányai, Head of Unit Conventional Disarmament, C- and B-Weapons,
e-mail: wolfgang.banyai@bmeia.gv.at
Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence and Sports
Extraministerial Legislation Division and International Law
int.law@bmlvs.gv.at
Yes
Austria remains strongly committed to the goal of a mine-free world and will continue its efforts in promoting the universalization and implementation of the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition on the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and their destruction. Austria was elected as Chair of the Ottawa Convention for 2017 and is organizing the 16th Meeting of States Parties from 18-21 December 2017 in Vienna. Austria pushes for the implementation of the aim of a world free from APM by 2025 as well as to continue to provide assistance to APM victims during their lifetimes, even after the aim of a world free of APMs will have been achieved. The Chairman of the Convention, Amb. Hajnoczi, uses all possibilities to promote universalization, i.a. with Sri Lanka and Libya.
The Austrian Ministry of Defence and Sports was raising awareness about the humanitarian standards set by the Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention on the occasion of the Vienna Course on International Law for Military Legal Advisers, where international law training is provided to about 200 military or civilian legal advisers in the Armed Forces or the Ministries of Defence from 30 European States as well as from the European External Action Service. Until 2016, the Austrian Ministry of Defence and Sports has organized the Vienna Course on International Law eight times and will organize the 9th Vienna Course on International Law for Military Legal Advisers in 2017/18. The humanitarian consequences related to the use of antipersonnel mines are a topic of the Vienna Course on International Law.