Thank you, Mr. Chairman,

India firmly believes that CCW and its Protocols are important instruments that seek to uphold International Humanitarian Law.

As party to the CCW and all its five Protocols, India is committed to ensuring full implementation of our obligations and humanitarian principles that the protocols embody.

India supports the Plan of Action on Universalization as well as the Sponsorship Programme. It has made its financial contributions on time and regularly.

We have regularly submitted Annual Reports on Compliance since 2008. India supports measures aimed at encouraging submission of compliance reports by all states.

Mr. Chairman,

India supports the vision of a world free of the threat of landmines and believe that the availability of militarily effective alternative technologies that can cost-effectively perform, the defensive function of anti-personnel landmines will facilitate the achievement of this goal.

India is a leading contributor to UN peace-keeping operations and has extended assistance to international demining and rehabilitation efforts. India has trained mine clearance teams which have undertaken mine clearance tasks in several countries including Cambodia, Lao PDR, Angola, Benin, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

In the last decade, over 800 persons from various countries have undergone training in India in mine clearance and explosives disposal. We remain committed to providing capacity-building and assistance to countries upon their request.

AP-II, we believe, also serves as an appropriate framework for addressing the issue of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) which is today deployed often by terrorists and illegal armed groups. India supports continuing the useful work on IEDs under the CCW framework with focus on addressing the threat of IEDs. 

Mr. Chairman,

India remains convinced that the CCW is the appropriate forum to address the issue of emerging technologies in the area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems because of the fine balance the Convention seeks to strike between humanitarian concerns and military necessity.

The Convention also provides a dynamic and adaptive platform that can bring together multiple stake-holders. We also believe that addressing this issue within the framework of the CCW strengthens the Convention and enhances its capacity to respond meaningfully to the challenges posed by the application of evolving new technologies to armed conflict in the 21st century.

India, therefore, supports continued discussions on emerging technologies by the Group of Governmental Experts by building on the existing outcomes including the Guiding Principles.

We believe that these Guiding Principles and previous reports contain a powerful norm that emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems are not exempt from the prohibitions, restrictions and limitations that are contained in international humanitarian law.

India acknowledges the deliberations of the GGE on LAWS in its two substantive sessions held this year and the informal inter-sessional consultations organized under the stewardship of the current Chair.

It is our belief that common understanding of LAWS, either in form of definitions or characterizations, is critical to provide a sound basis for our collective efforts to consider and develop aspects with regard to the normative and operational framework for regulation of LAWS.

The chances of arriving at a consensus on definitions and characterisations, it is our understanding, will improve if the proposals and approaches focus on real-life situations and are able to take into account the evolving nature of technology.

There are a number of good proposals that are currently under discussion. India would not like to prejudge the outcome of the deliberation of the GGE at this stage.

India will continue to participate in the deliberations constructively.

Thank You, Mr. Chairman.