NATO Countries Withdraw from Ottawa Convention on Anti-Personnel Landmines Amid Growing Threats from Russia

1. NATO members Poland, Finland, and all three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) have announced plans to withdraw from the 1997 Ottawa Convention, which bans the use, production, and stockpiling of anti-personnel landmines.
2. These decisions come in response to growing military threats from Russia.
3. Their withdrawal seeks to put them on more equal footing with Russia, which has not signed or ratified the Ottawa Convention, along with countries such as the United States, China, India, and Israel.

What is the Ottawa Convention? Official Name: Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction. Objective: Prohibits the use, development, stockpiling, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines. Mandates destruction of existing stockpiles. Adoption & Enforcement: Adopted in Oslo (1997) and signed at Ottawa. Came into force in 1999. Signatories: 133 countries (India is not a signatory). Depositary Authority: Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Impact on Global Disarmament Efforts

1. The withdrawal of these countries threatens decades of global disarmament efforts. Anti-personnel landmines continue to maim and kill civilians long after conflicts end.
2. Countries exiting the convention will be able to produce, use, stockpile, and transfer landmines once again.
3. All European countries bordering Russia have announced plans to withdraw, with Norway as the sole exception. Norway emphasizes maintaining the stigma around landmines despite the rising threats.

The Human Cost of Landmines

1. Landmines predominantly affect civilians. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), over 80% of mine victims are civilians.
2. In Ukraine, now the most mined country in the world, there were 1,286 civilian casualties from mines and unexploded ordnance by August 2024.

Cluster Munitions

1. Countries like Lithuania, which are withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention, are also considering leaving the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions.
2. The United States, which has not signed this convention, transferred cluster munitions to Ukraine in 2023 to assist in its defense against Russia.

 

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