Thailand was honored by the royal visit of Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid, the second daughter of King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium. The Princess, accompanied by her consort, Prince Lorenz, attended the Fifth Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer and the Destruction of Anti-Personnel Landmines, hosted by Thailand. The royal couple arrived in Bangkok in the evening of September 14, with Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krue-Ngam on hand to welcome them at Bangkok International Airport.

As one of the 136 States Parties to the Ottawa Convention, or the Mine Ban Convention, Thailand has been fully committed to the aim of prohibiting the production, stockpiling, and transfer of antipersonnel mines and has carried out her obligations accordingly. The Convention came about thanks to the efforts of high-profile campaigners in the international community, known as the International Committee for the Banning of Landmines, which launched the Ottawa process in 1996, leading to the historic signing of the Ottawa Convention in 1997. The Committee was awarded the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize in the same year. The Ottawa Convention stipulates that a meeting of the States Parties be convened every year, alternately in Geneva and one of the mineaffected countries. The first meeting was held in Mozambique, followed by the second in Geneva, the third in Nicaragua, and the fourth in Geneva.

Thailand was entrusted by fellow States Parties to host the fifth meeting in Bangkok at the United Nations Conference Center from 15 to 19 September 2003. The meeting was attended by more than 600 representatives from all States Parties to the Ottawa Convention, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organizations, and was inaugurated by Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra, the royal patroness of the Thailand Mine Action Center.

Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid warmly congratulated Thailand for hosting the Fifth Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention, pointing out that the Kingdom had not only accepted the leading role in promoting the Convention, but also the cooperation in the first review conference of the Convention. She noted that she was speaking to the gathering for the third time; the previous one was a year ago in Geneva, when Belgium took up the chairmanship of the meeting, which she handed over to Thailand at this fifth meeting.

The meeting provided the opportunity for member states to examine their commitment to the obligations set by the Convention, the status of the Convention, and the cooperation among members to honor the Convention, and served as a forum for States Parties to Princess Astrid of Belgium taking part in the opening ceremony of the Fifth Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok The meeting in progress exchange views and technologies in increasing the efficiency of mineclearing efforts. The Landmines Monitor Report 2003 was also presented at the meeting.

Thailand realizes the devastating effect of the landmine problem and has made significant steps in implementing her obligations following her ratification of the Convention in November 1997. Asia is one of the worst-affected regions of the world in terms of planted landmines, in the cases of Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, and in terms of stockpiling, regarding China, India, Pakistan, South Korea, and Singapore.

The Princess remarked that, four and a half years after it entered into force, the Ottawa Convention had successfully achieved a universal character, with more than two thirds of the world’s nations agreeing to the Convention, and the goals of the Convention accepted as universal norms. She called for full implementation of the obligations among States Parties as tests of their involvement. Membership for the sake of membership was clearly not enough, when human lives and human suffering were at stake, the Princess stressed. She also called on a considerable number of countries that remained outside the Convention to realize that anti-personnel mines served no purpose. She remarked that, in all, a vast area had been cleared of landmines, with about 26 million mines destroyed in the past year. And today, some 60 States Parties could announce that they had destroyed more than 30 million landmines. There remained, however, great dangers from the Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana converses with Princess Astrid about cooperation under the Ottawa Convention. unexploded landmines that had not yet been cleared. So Her Highness called for full implementation of the obligations, in particular mine clearing and restriction of stockpiles.

The Fifth Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention was significant, as it was the last meeting prior to the Review Conference of the Convention in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2004.

The presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium at the meeting highlighted her strong commitment to the Convention and its humanitarian goals. The Princess has served as President of the Red Cross of Belgium since 1994 and has paid great attention to social and humanitarian issues around the world.

She issued a strong call to States Parties at the meeting to focus on victim assistance and on resource mobilization. She noted that most mine victims were women and children. They needed assistance and rehabilitation in order to be able to lead a normal life in the community and the society. The Princess also reminded participants of the next major challenge of complete elimination and destruction of landmines by 2009, as set for all States Parties to the Ottawa Convention.

Princess Astrid and her consort, Prince Lorenz, had an audience with His Majesty the King at Klai Kangwon Palace in Hua Hin, and were given a dinner hosted by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

On September 16, she attended the “Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Lecture 2003” at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, chaired by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, and visited the Thai Red Cross Society.

The Princess and her consort, accompanied by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, visited the Child Welfare Foundation of the Thai Red Cross Society at the Vajiralongkorn Building in Chulalongkorn Hospital, where abandoned children are cared for. The Foundation groups them as newborns to six months old, six months old to one and a half years old, and two years old and over.

Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz, who have five children of their own, showed a keen interest in those children and the Thai dances the children performed for their guests.

A child with multiple disabilities, aged seven and a half, was introduced to the royal guests. The girl, Phatthamon Somchaipheng, came under the supervision of the Foundation when she was less than two years old. She has developed certain skills, including the ability to read Braille.

On this occasion, a Red Cross Medal of Merit was presented to Princess Astrid by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

Princess Astrid and her consort also presided at the presentation of a painting entitled “The Travelers’’ by Belgian artist Rudi Pillen to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand. The painting, 2.5 by 10 meters, has been put up to adorn the MRTA station near the Thailand Cultural Center.

From September 17 to 19, Princess Astrid and her consort paid a visit to Cambodia to observe the mine-clearing operation by the Government of Belgium there. She also inaugurated the new Office for Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Belgium in Phnom Penh, and had an audience with King Norodom Sihanouk and the Queen.

As a leading figure in the mine ban campaign and humanitarian operations, Her Royal Highness Prince Astrid of Belgium contributed greatly to highlight the importance of the Ottawa Convention and its humanitarian goals with her presence at the Fifth Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention in Thailand and in creating awareness in the world at large of the need to eliminate the scourge of the remnants of war that continue to destroy lives and livelihood.