Antipersonnel mines are munitions designed to explode from the presence, proximity, or contact of a person. They do not differentiate between military personnel and civilians and remain a lingering risk for civilians long after a conflict has ended.
Because of the disproportionate and long-term risks to civilians, the Mine Ban Treaty came into being in 1997. The treaty is signed by more than 160 countries, including the Netherlands and all other European Union member states.
Russia did not sign the treaty, and uses landmines on a large scale in Ukraine. Ukraine, although a member of the Mine Ban Treaty, also used anti personnel landmines.
Roos Boer, humanitarian disarmament project leader for PAX: ‘Although the threat from neighboring Russia is understandable, these rules were not made for peacetime, they were made for times of war. The perceived military utility from anti personnel landmines does not outweigh the devastating impact on civilians these weapons have.’
The International Red Cross stresses that threats of war or state security should not be a reason to ignore rules around disarmament and international law, and calls on countries to comply with these norms.
PAX, and organizations in more than 60 countries worldwide, united in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, are therefore calling on the 5 EU member states Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland to remain state party to the treaty, despite their recent announcement.
Boer: ‘We call on these states to remain true to their commitment to protect civilians in times of conflict. We also call on the Netherlands to use diplomatic channels to propagate and protect the international norm against anti-personnel landmines.’
Further reading
- PAX Landmines Programma
- Podcast from the International Red Cross on the importance of the landmine treaty standard
