Anti-personnel mines (APMs) are victim-activated explosive devices buried or scattered on the ground, intended to incapacitate combatants but in practice causing the majority of casualties among civilians, often years or decades after a conflict ends. They are distinguished from anti-vehicle mines, which require greater pressure to detonate, and from command-detonated devices such as remotely triggered IEDs.
The principal legal instrument governing these weapons is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, commonly called the Ottawa Treaty or Mine Ban Treaty, which opened for signature in December 1997 and entered into force on 1 March 1999. States Parties commit to never use, develop, produce, stockpile, or transfer APMs, to destroy stockpiles within four years of accession, and to clear mined areas under their jurisdiction within ten years (with possible extensions). The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and its coordinator Jody Williams received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for their role in negotiating the treaty.
A separate framework, Protocol II (as amended in 1996) to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), regulates rather than prohibits mine use and binds several states that have not joined the Ottawa Treaty.
Notable non-signatories include the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, and both Koreas. The annual Landmine Monitor report, published by the ICBL-CMC, tracks new use, casualties, clearance progress, and victim assistance.
Key operational concepts include:
- Humanitarian demining: systematic survey and clearance, often led by operators such as HALO Trust, MAG, and Norwegian People's Aid.
- Victim assistance: medical care, rehabilitation, and socio-economic reintegration obligations under Article 6 of the Ottawa Treaty.
- Stockpile destruction: a verifiable benchmark of compliance.
APMs remain a recurring agenda item in the UN General Assembly First Committee and in disarmament fora in Geneva.
Example
In 2024, Lithuania announced its intention to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty, citing the security threat posed by Russia along NATO's eastern flank.
Frequently asked questions
The United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Israel, and both North and South Korea are among the states that have not signed or ratified the treaty.
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