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Following Lithuania’s international commitments, in April the countries’ Armed Forces began destroying anti-personnel landmines in Kazlų Rūda. In the name of promoting a mine-free world, all of 3925 anti-personnel mines currently in stock and falling under the definition of the 1997 Ottawa Convention are to be destroyed within the next two months. Lithuania became a party to the Convention on 1 November 2003. Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch, President-Designate of the November Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World, is invited to attend the June 7 ceremony at the Pabradė training area, when the last batch of anti-personnel mines is to go. Other high-ranking officials from the Baltic region states, International Committee of the Red Cross, United Nations, NATO and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe are also invited. Lithuania has been the first among the Baltic States to join the Ottawa Convention and will be the pioneer to eliminate mines that continue to play humanitarian, social and economic havoc in many parts of the world. On 8-9 June the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, in cooperation with the Governments of the Netherlands, Canada and Germany, will host a regional conference in Vilnius intended to strengthening the response to the ongoing plight of landmine victims, solidifying the mines ban norm in the region, building confidence as well as reviewing military doctrines related the anti-personnel mines use. High representatives of Nordic and Baltic States, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Belarus Republic, Russian Federation, Ukraine, UN, NATO, OSCE, ICRC, GIHDC and ICBL are expected to attend. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of National Defence have also been planning measures which would enable Lithuania to contribute to the implementation of the United Nations and the European Union mine action strategies. The Ministry of National Defence has initiated the ratification process of V Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. Lithuania seeks to be among the first states to ratify this Protocol adopted in November 2003 in Geneva. Lithuania is also among the group of states advocating restrictions on non-detectable mines and further development of a new protocol regulating other than anti-personnel mines.