Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Sumith Dassanayake, underscored the country’s dedication to achieving a world free of cluster munitions during the Second Preparatory Meeting of the Third Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) on July 1, 2026.
Addressing delegates at the Palais des Nations, he welcomed the draft Vientiane Capital Action Plan (VCAP) 2027–2031, praised its alignment with global humanitarian and development frameworks, and offered constructive proposals to strengthen its implementation ahead of adoption at the September conference in Laos.
The Vientiane Capital Action Plan is designed for the next five years to implement the Convention on Cluster Munition and will be adopted at the Third Review Conference to be held in Vientiane in the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic in September 2026.
According to the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Sumith Dassanayake also expressed support of Sri Lanka to the Presidency of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic for its leadership for the Third Review Conference.
In his statement, Ambassador Sumith Dassanayake welcomed positive elements of the draft Vientiane Capital Action Plan, describing it as a constructive evolution of the previous action plan. He commended its focus on environmental protection, victim assistance, and alignment with global frameworks like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) Agendas, and the promotion of peace, human rights, and international humanitarian law.
In a constructive spirit, Ambassador Sumith Dassanayake proposed to maintain coherent and consistent language to reflect the gender and diversity needs, establish clearer data verification methods, necessity for explicit guidance on environmental standards, compliance indicators, and impact assessment methodologies and to enhance technical assistance for affected states with limited administrative capacity to collect data and reporting etc.
Ambassador Sumith Dassanayake concluded by reaffirming Sri Lanka’s steadfast commitment to collaborating constructively with the Presidency and Member States to finalize a robust Vientiane Capital Action Plan that will effectively guide global efforts towards achieving a cluster-munition-free world. (Newswire)