A/RES/53/26 Page 2 8 March 1995,1 1996/85 of 24 April 1996,2 1997/78 of 18 April 19973 and 1998/76 of 22 April 19984 on the rights of the child and resolutions 1996/27 of 19 April 19962 and 1998/31 of 17 April 19984 and decision 1997/107 of 11 April 19973 on the human rights of persons with disabilities, Deeply alarmed by the number of mines that continue to be laid each year, as well as the presence of a large number of mines and other unexploded devices as a result of armed conflicts, and thus convinced of the necessity and urgency of a significant increase in mine-clearance efforts by the international community with a view to eliminating the threat of landmines to civilians as soon as possible, Noting the decisions taken at the Review Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects,5 particularly with respect to Protocol II of the Convention and the inclusion in the Amended Protocol6 of a number of provisions of importance for mine-clearance operations, notably the requirement of detectability, Noting the entry into force of the Amended Protocol II of the Convention on 3 December 1998, Recalling that the States parties at the Review Conference declared their commitment to keep the provisions of Protocol II under review in order to ensure that the concerns regarding the weapons it covers are addressed, and that they would encourage efforts of the United Nations and other organizations to address all the problems of landmines, Noting that the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, adopted at the Oslo Conference on 18 September 1997 and opened for signature at Ottawa on 3 December 1997, which, among other things, recognizes that States parties in a position to do so should provide assistance for mine-clearance and related activities, for the care and rehabilitation, and social and economic reintegration, of mine victims and for mine-awareness programmes, has been signed by over one hundred and thirty States, Noting also that the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction will enter into force on 1 March 1999, Encouraged by the initiatives taken at conferences held at Elsinore, Denmark, Bonn, Germany, and Tokyo, notably in relation to international standards and procedures for humanitarian mine-clearance operations, as well as the development of new technology for landmine detection and removal and the rehabilitation of landmine victims, which can serve as a basis on which to advance the safety, effectiveness and professionalism of these operations throughout the world, 1 See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1995, Supplement No. 3 and corrigenda (E/1995/23 and Corr.1 and 2), chap. II, sect. A. 2 Ibid., 1996, Supplement No. 3 and corrigendum (E/1996/23 and Corr.1), chap. II, sect. A. 3 Ibid., 1997, Supplement No. 3 (E/1997/23), chap. II. 4 Ibid., 1998, Supplement No. 3 (E/1998/23), chap. II, sect. A. 5 CCW/CONF.I/16 (Part I). 6 Ibid., annex B. /...