Southeast Asia uneasy as European states quit landmine ban DW 12/11/2025

"Earlier this year, five European states Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland announced plans to withdraw from an international landmine ban treaty, citing Russia's threat and the need to restore anti-personnel mines to their defensive toolkits. Around the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree to quit the treaty because of his country's ongoing war with Russia, which has never joined the convention. The six countries are likely to officially leave the international treaty at the end of the year."

"The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, came into force in 1999. It bans the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and commits members to clear contaminated land and assist victims. A total of 166 countries have ratified the anti-landmine treaty, and no state has ever withdrawn since it was first signed in 1997."

"Yet the humanitarian picture is worsening. Civilian deaths and injuries from landmines and explosive remnants of war have risen to their highest level in four years, according to the Landmine Monitor 2025 report produced by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a non-government coalition. The report, published this month, recorded over 6,000 incidents last year, including 1,945 deaths and 4,325 injuries."

Six countries — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland and Ukraine — have announced plans to withdraw from the Anti‑Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, citing Russia's threat and wartime defense needs. The treaty, known as the Ottawa Convention, bans use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti‑personnel mines and obliges members to clear contaminated land and assist victims; 166 countries have ratified it and no state had previously withdrawn since 1997. For decades the EU has been a major donor to mine action, contributing €110 million last year. Global landmine casualties rose sharply in 2024, with over 6,000 incidents and nearly 6,279 people killed or injured, driven in part by Myanmar's civil war. The shift in European policy raises deep concerns for heavily affected regions such as Southeast Asia.

Read at www.dw.com