Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects

Expresses satisfaction that the Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons (Protocol IV) entered into force on 30 July 1998, commends it to all States, with a view to achieving the widest possible adherence to this instrument at an early date, and calls, in particular, on all States parties to the Convention that have not yet done so to express their consent to be bound by the Protocol; welcomes the adherence to the amended Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby Traps and Other Devices (Protocol II) by 21 States and its entry into force on 3 Dec. 1998, and calls, in particular, on all States parties to the Convention that have not yet done so to express their consent to be bound by the Protocol; requests the Secretary-General, in his capacity as depositary of amended Protocol II, to convene in 1999 the first annual conference of States parties to the Protocol, in accordance with article 13 of amended Protocol II; urgently calls upon all States that have not yet done so to take all measures to become parties as soon as possible, to the Convention and the Protocols thereto, and particularly to amended Protocol II and calls upon successor States to take appropriate measures so that ultimately adherence to these instruments will be universal; calls upon the Secretary-General, in his capacity as depositary of the Convention and the Protocols thereto, to continue to inform it periodically of ratifications and acceptances of and accessions to the Convention and the Protocols.

Adopted without vote, 79th meeting

3 p.

Adopted at the 79th plenary meeting, 4 Dec. 1998.