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Representatives of governmental institutions from more than thirty countries, also representatives of international governmental and non-governmental organisations are discussing the most important issues of restriction and prohibition on the use of dangerous conventional weapons. In order to discuss these topics regional seminar ‘Searching for ways of making joint solutions of problems, caused by anti-personnel landmines, cluster bombs and explosive remnants of war’ was organized on 26-28 June in Druskininkai.

The goal of the seminar is to evaluate the possibilities to coordinate more effectively efforts of the international community to restrict the use of harmful weapons and to benefit from the experience that was acquired in this field.

The incapability of some countries to destroy their anti-personnel landmines within the terms that are set by the international law and the Convention banning cluster bombs, which was adopted in May, in Dublin, are the main topics of discussions among the participants of the seminar.

A lot of attention is also dedicated to increase the effectiveness of providing aid to the countries that had suffered from landmines and explosive remnants of war.

This year the international conference of the Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons is chaired by Lithuania. At the seminar Lithuania will present the results of the implementation of its national program and action plan for clearing the explosive remnants of war and prevention.

According to this program, Lithuanian army together with the municipalities is obliged to evaluate until 2018 the contamination of the territory of Lithuania with explosives, remaining since the First World War and the Second World War, as well as with the ones that were left behind by the Soviet army, to neutralise their threat to the inhabitants and to clear the contaminated territories.

The interregional seminar is held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania. Similar seminars were organised in Vilnius in 2004 and 2005.