Amman Seminar on Military and Humanitarian Issues Surrounding the Ottawa Convention
Holiday Inn, Amman, Jordan
April 19-21, 2004
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Monday 19 April 2004

18:30                     Arrival of Participants and Registration

19:00                     Opening of the Amman Seminar and Dinner (hosted by Canada)

Introductory Remarks

• Dr. Atef Odibat

            Director, Regional Human Security Centre at the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy

• H.E. Ambassador John T. Holmes

            Canadian Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

• General (Ret'd) Maurice Baril

            Former Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff and Special Advisor to Canada's Ambassador for Mine Action

• H.E. Mr. Samir Habashneh

            Minister of Interior of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Tuesday 20 April 2004

Main Theme: "Overview of the Ottawa Convention and Related Military Issues" 

Co-Chairs:           Brigadier Falah Ma'aitah, Director of the Royal Corps of Engineers, and General (Ret’d) Maurice Baril

9:30                        Scene-Setting Presentation:  The Human Cost of Anti-personnel Mines and the
International Response
Mr. Muin Kassis, Head of Communications, ICRC, Amman, Jordan

10:00                     Video Presentation - The Ottawa Convention Explained

10:30                     An Overview of the Ottawa Convention
Mr. Kerry Brinkert, Manager, Implementation Support Unit, Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)

11:15                     Coffee break

11:45                     Presentation on the Jordanian Experience

Brigadier Falah Ma'aitah

12:30                     Discussion

13:00                     Lunch (Hotel’s main restaurant)

14:30                     Historical Uses of Anti-personnel Mines

Brigadier (Ret’d) Paddy Blagden, United Kingdom

15:00                     Panel Discussion on Participant Countries’ Position vis-à-vis the Convention
(5-10 minutes each)

16:15                     Military Solutions to Operations Without Antipersonnel Mines

General (Ret’d) Maurice Baril

16:45                     Discussion

17:30                     Seminar adjourns

20:00                     Dinner

Wednesday 21 April 2004

Main Theme:       "The Ottawa Convention as a Framework to Address the Humanitarian Challenge Posed by Anti-personnel Mines"

Co-Chairs:           Dr. Atef Odibat and Ambassador Satnam Jit Singh, Diplomatic Advisor, International Campaign to Ban Landmines

8:00                        Field visit to mined areas being cleared by Jordan’s Royal Corps of Engineers 

13:00                     Lunch (Hotel’s main restaurant)

14:00                     The Scope of the Mine/UXO Challenge in the Region

Mr. Ayman Sorour, Executive Director, PROTECION, Egypt

14:30                     Cooperation and Assistance to Achieve the Convention’s Aims

• Scene Setting Presentation: The Concept of Mine Action as a Framework to Implement the Ottawa Convention 

Ambassador Martin Dahindin, Director, GICHD, Switzerland

• The Provision of International Cooperation and Assistance:  A Presentation on Article 6 of the Convention

Ambassador John T. Holmes

• Cooperation and Assistance to Achieve the Convention’s Aims

Ms. Julia Taft, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery

15:30                     Discussion

16:00                     Coffee break

16:30                     Opportunity for Presentations by Donor States from the Gulf Region

17:00                     The Road to the Nairobi Summit on a Mine Free World:  The First Review Conference of the Ottawa Convention

• An Overview of Preparations

Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch, Austrian Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva and President-Designate of the Convention’s First Review Conference

• An Overview of Expectations

Ms. Habbouba Aoun, Landmine Resource Centre for Lebanon, University of Balamand, Beirut and Representative of ICBL

17:30                     Discussion

18:00                     Seminar ends