WHEREAS the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of
Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”) was concluded at Oslo on 18 September
1997;
WHEREAS the Convention, pursuant to its Article 17, paragraph 1, entered into force on 1 March 1999, i.e., the first day of the sixth month after
the month in which the 40th instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession had been deposited;
WHEREAS, in accordance with Article 11, paragraph 2 of the Convention, the First Meeting of the States Parties was convened by the Secretary-General of
the United Nations within one year after the entry into force of the Convention in
Maputo, Mozambique, from 3 to 7 May 1999;
WHEREAS, in accordance with Article 11, paragraph 2 of the Convention, subsequent Meetings were convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations
annually until the First Review Conference as follows: in Geneva, Switzerland, from
11 to 15 September 2000; in Managua, Nicaragua, from 18 to 21 September 2001; in Geneva,
Switzerland, from 16 to 20 September 2002; in Bangkok, Kingdom of Thailand, from 15
to 19 September 2003;
WHEREAS, in accordance with Article 12 of the Convention, the First Review Conference was convened by the Secretary-General of the United
Nations five years after the entry into force of this Convention in Nairobi, Kenya,
from 29 November to 3 December 2004;
WHEREAS, in accordance with the relevant decision of the First Review Conference,
as contained in the Final Report of the Conference (APLC/CONF/2004/5, paragraph 32
(a)), subsequent meetings were convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations
annually until the Second Review Conference, as follows: in Zagreb, Croatia, from
28 November to 2 December 2005; in Geneva, Switzerland, from 18 to 22 September 2006;
at the Dead Sea, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, from 18 November to 22 November 2007;
and in Geneva, Switzerland, from 24 to 28 November 2008;
WHEREAS, in accordance with Article 12, paragraph 1, of the Convention, and the relevant decision by the Ninth Meeting of the States Parties, as contained
in the Final Report of the Meeting (APLC/MSP.9/2008/4, paragraph 33), the Second Review
Conference was convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Cartagena,
Colombia, from 30 November to 4 December 2009;
WHEREAS, in accordance with the relevant decision of the Second Review Conference
that Meetings of the States Parties shall be convened annually until the Third Review
Conference, as contained in the Final Report of the Conference (APLC/CONF/2009/9,
paragraph 29 (i)), subsequent meetings were convened by the Secretary-General of the
United Nations as follows: in Geneva, Switzerland, from 29 November to 3 December
2010; in Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia, from 28 November to 2 December 2011; and
in Geneva, Switzerland, from 3 to 7 December 2012, and from 2 to 5 December 2013;
WHEREAS, in accordance with the decision of the Thirteenth Meeting of the States Parties,
as contained in its Final Report (APLC/MSP.13/2013/6, paragraph 32) the Third Review
Conference of the States Parties was convened by the Secretary-General of the United
Nations in Maputo, Mozambique, from 23 to 27 June 2014;
WHEREAS, in accordance with the relevant decision of the Third Review Conference that,
beginning in 2015, a Meeting of the States Parties will be convened each year at the
end of November or beginning of December until the end of 2018, as contained in the
Final Report of the Conference (APLC/CONF/2014/4, paragraph 31), subsequent meetings
were convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as follows: in Geneva,
Switzerland, from 30 November to 4 December 2015; in Santiago, Chile, from 28 November
to 2 December 2016; in Vienna, Austria, from 18 to 21 December 2017; and in Geneva,
Switzerland, from 26 to 30 November 2018;
WHEREAS, in accordance with the decision of the Seventeenth Meeting of the States
Parties, as contained in its Final Report (APLC/MSP.17/2018/12, paragraph 48) the
Fourth Review Conference of the States Parties was convened by the Secretary-General
of the United Nations in Oslo, Norway, from 25 to 29 November 2019;
WHEREAS, in accordance with the relevant decision of the Fourth Review Conference
that a Meeting of the States Parties will be convened each year at the end of November
or beginning of December until the Fifth Review Conference (APLC/CONF/2019/5, paragraph
34 (i)), a subsequent meeting was convened by the Secretary-General of the United
Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 16 to 20 November 2020;
WHEREAS the General Assembly of the United Nations, by resolution 75/52 of 7 December
2020, requested the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in accordance with Article 12, paragraph 1, of the Convention, to undertake the preparations necessary to convene the Nineteenth Meeting of the
States Parties to the Convention and, on behalf of the States parties and in accordance
with Article 12, paragraph 3, of the Convention, to invite States not parties to the
Convention, as well as the United Nations, other relevant international organizations
or institutions, regional organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross
and relevant non-governmental organizations, to attend the Nineteenth Meeting of the
States Parties as observers;
WHEREAS, in accordance with the decision of the Eighteenth Meeting of the States Parties,
as contained in its Final Report (APLC/MSP.18/2020/10, paragraph 108), and resolution
75/52 of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Nineteenth Meeting of the
States Parties is convened to take place in The Hague, the Netherlands, from 15 to
19 November 2021;
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article 14, paragraph 1 of the Convention, the costs of the Nineteenth Meeting, as adopted by the States parties and contained
in APLC/CONF/2019/4, shall be borne by the States Parties and States not parties to
the Convention participating therein, in accordance with the United Nations scale
of assessments adjusted appropriately;