Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention

The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, formally the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, is commonly known as the Ottawa Treaty or Mine Ban Treaty. It was adopted in Oslo on 18 September 1997, opened for signature in Ottawa on 3 December 1997, and entered into force on 1 March 1999.

The treaty emerged from the Ottawa Process, a diplomatic initiative led by Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy in partnership with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), a coalition of NGOs that, together with its coordinator Jody Williams, received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for its advocacy.

Core obligations under the treaty include:

• Article 1: A complete ban on the use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, or transfer of anti-personnel mines.
• Article 4: Destruction of stockpiled anti-personnel mines within four years of entry into force for each state party.
• Article 5: Clearance of mined areas under a state party's jurisdiction within ten years, with possible extensions.
• Article 6: Obligations on international cooperation, including assistance to mine victims.
• Article 7: Annual transparency reporting to the UN Secretary-General.

The Convention covers only anti-personnel mines; anti-vehicle mines fall outside its scope. Compliance is monitored through annual Meetings of States Parties and Review Conferences held roughly every five years (Nairobi 2004, Cartagena 2009, Maputo 2014, Oslo 2019).

Several major military powers — including the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and Israel — have not joined the treaty, citing security concerns such as the Korean Peninsula. Nonetheless, the Convention is widely cited as a successful example of humanitarian disarmament and a model for later instruments such as the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions and the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. As of the late 2010s it had more than 160 states parties, making it one of the most widely adhered-to disarmament treaties.