26 February 2009

Nicaragua and Panama will be among the first 30 to ratify the CCM

(Managua, 26 February 2009) - During a briefing event on the Convention on Cluster Munitions that took place in Managua, Nicaragua, on 26 February, Nicaragua and Panama announced that they will be among the first 30 countries to ratify the CCM. Colombia has started internal consultations on the Convention and is hoping to start the ratification process as soon as possible. Chile stated that they will start ratification procedures in the next months.About 45 delegates attended the briefing, which was chaired by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense, Mrs. Ruth Tapia. Mr. Anton Camen, the regional representative from ICRC, Ambassador Susan Eckey from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, and Yassir Chavarría Gutiérrez and Serena Olgiati from the CMC gave short presentations on the issue of cluster munitions and the CCM. The event took place on the margins of the Managua Regional Workshop in Preparation of the Second Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty (Cartagena, Colombia, 30 Nov - 4 Dec 2009).CMC Presentation, Serena Olgiati, 26 February 2009Presentation, Yassir Chavarría Gutiérrez, 26 February 2009