As we approach the Fifth Review Conference of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC), a growing number of states have reached or are approaching completion under Article 5. This progress is encouraging – but also presents unfamiliar challenges. As the most mature of the family of humanitarian disarmament instruments, the APMBC must lead the way in answering key questions around sustainability, national and international resourcing, and continued commitment to the other articles and broader norms of the Convention.
As a State Party to both the APMBC and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Zambia declared completion under both frameworks in 2009.
Reflecting a strong national commitment to humanitarian disarmament, the Zambia Mine Action Centre (ZMAC) has remained an active entity, coordinating the cross-Ministerial response to residual contamination and maintaining active engagement with the APMBC machinery. ZMAC has worked closely with MAG to analyse good practice, lessons learned, and challenges gained through decades of implementing its national mine action programme and working as an international policymaker under the APMBC.
This paper presents these insights into post-completion management, exploring how states navigate a changing context post-completion, and what is meant by sustainable national capacities within the framework of the APMBC.
